


Hundara

by Ladyanaconda



Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horse Racing, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Friendship/Love, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Race, Racing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 13:09:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10719972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyanaconda/pseuds/Ladyanaconda
Summary: Every year, the race is held to determine which Clan possesses the best Hundara and the most skilled warrior. Inzo 'Vadam, son of the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, is determined to participate atop his father's prized war mount to prove himself. But with humans coming to participate this year and Inzo making an unlikely friend, this year's race might be more than he can chew.





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Halo fanfic ever, I’ve been wanting to write this for some time now. The Hundara is a Sangheili mount created by Dragulnab from deviantart. Be sure to take a look at his Halo fanart, it’s very good!
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

The scorching suns drained his strength away, the merciless desert spreading out before him while the cruel heat played tricks on his mind, sending dancing illusions of water bodies to give him the slightest hope, only to realize they were but vanishing ghosts of something that he sought so desperately. He tried to pull his cloak and hood further in an attempt to protect his scales from the multiplied heat and UV rays coming from three suns, but it offered little shade in this hell. 

He continued to stare at the black beast, the once prideful animal reduced to a dying, pitiful creature. The polished blackness of its scales had turned to dark gray due to both the dust and its own state. Its breathing was slow and tired, its eyes once filled of spirit now showed only suffering; every time it inhaled, it coughed seconds later in an attempt to expel the sand and dust out of its respiratory track. There was a large, deep wound on its chest, it would forever ruin him if they got out of this one, but judging by the situation it didn't have long to live, and the injury was making the animal's last minutes an agony. He had removed its saddle to try and make its breathing a bit easier, but it was no use. 

The young Sangheili knew what had to be do, even if it cost him everything. 

The most honorable thing he could do was to end his mount's suffering, and to endure the sentence of participating in this Race and failing. The Sangheili, barely a teen, had never killed an Hundara before, but he had seen how the oldest or the ones beyond repair were put out of their misery. He had to do it quickly. Trembling, the young Sangheili took his hand to his waist, grabbing the only weapon he could bring, an energy sword. Activating it, he noticed the animal flinched when it realized what he was going to do. 

"I'm sorry..." the young Sangheili whispered, holding the sword just over the animal's large head, almost sobbing. "Die with honor, my friend..." 

He brought the sword down...


	2. Chapter 1

 

Living underneath someone’s shadow wasn’t a pleasant experience, especially if said shadow came from your own father.

And that was a feeling young Inzo ‘Vadam knew too well.

He was of the few fortunate on Sanghelios who knew their father’s identity, though sometimes he wished he didn’t. It wasn’t that he wasn’t proud of being the son of Thel ‘Vadam, the Arbiter himself, but rather it was because of the expectations that great honor brought. After all, sons were always supposed to be as great as their fathers, if not more, but his problem was that he couldn’t even imagine a way to surpass his father in anything. After all, the Arbiter was a master swordsman, leader of the Swords of Sanghelios, the current Kaidon of Vadam, and these days referred as Champion of the Sangheili by some people.

It was quite a long shadow to walk out of, if one would have his opinion.

And taking into account he and his dad were not… on precisely good terms lately.

In fact, he was stuck helping with the Hundara instead of training with the rest of his ‘brothers’ as punishment for talking back to one of the Elders.

Inzo muttered under his breath as he dropped a large portion of Colo meat into one of the metal stalls, stepping back just as one of the creatures ran forward and started devouring it, its talon holding its meal and tearing large chunks of meat, which it swallowed with little effort. Sometimes he envied the Hundara, they didn’t have to worry about anything other than eating.

Things were easier when he was a child. Back then, his father wasn’t so strict, he could even say they were very close before he was taken to the common rooms to grow with the other children. And soon he learned there was no special treatment. Once a child crossed that doorway, he was like any other warrior-to-be regardless of the parentage. They were taught how to fight, in both martial combat and with weapons, particularly wooden swords to prepare them to wield energy swords later on.

Sometimes he trained with his father. That’s when Inzo noticed how serious his father could be. He was a strict teacher, Inzo noticed that he expected much of him. And it was not only the Arbiter who had high expectations for his son. The whole clan had high expectations of Thel ‘Vadam’s son, they didn’t say it outloud, but Inzo could tell it by how the other members of the clan watched him during training sessions. Their critical eyes watching out for any mistakes, the constant comparisons between him and his father during his youth.

After all, the House of Vadam was one of the most powerful states in Sanghelios. It was only natural they expected so much of him, especially his father the Arbiter, who had more than surpassed expectations in his youth himself. He had read his lines on the clan’s saga wall, and he had to admit his father’s life was… how would humans call it? ‘ _With its ups and downs_ ’, that was it…

Inzo was startled out of his thoughts once again, this time because of something rattling against the gate of stall he had leaned against, he regained his balance in the last moment, avoiding falling into one of the dirty straw piles. Grumbling, he glared at the occupant of the metal stall. It was a large male hundara, who was impatiently clawing the floor of its stall, demanding to be fed. Unlike the rest of the Hundara, however, this particular male had black scales, a very rare color for the Hundara found around these parts, though its eyes were the same piercing golden, but whenever he saw into this beast’s eyes he saw pride and a very bad attitude.

Inzo recognized it almost immediately.

This Hundara belonged to Thel ‘Vadam, his father.

This creature had been in his words nightmares as a child. He still remembered the first time his father introduced them to each other. Thel had warned him numerous times not to even try and pet him, since Hundara were vicious predators and they saw kids as snacks. And Inzo, of course, had not believed him until the Hundara nearly ripped off his hand. Some of the other kids nearby had laughed at him for weeks.

“Okay, okay, I got the message.” Inzo muttered bitterly as he picked another piece of Colo meat, this one particularly bigger than the rest, and warily threw it into the stall. The black Hundara devoured his meal greedily, glancing at the Sangueili to make sure he wouldn’t take his food away. “I wonder how dad managed to tame you…”

“It’s a long story.” An elder Sangheili approached, chuckling at Inzo’s expression. Like the rest who were currently tending to the beasts, he was wearing a short dark robe. If they wore any longer clothing the Hundaras would grab it to pull any potential meal closer.

“Why does my father’s life consist of ‘long stories’?” Inzo stated. Though Thel’s lines were carved in the Saga Wall, whenever Inzo asked his father about it Thel would say it was a story for another time. He wasn’t sure if his father didn’t like boasting about all his past achievements, or if he hadn’t been in the mood to talk about it. He guessed it was the former.

The elder, Khysan ‘Vadam, a former Hundara Cavalry warrior, shrugged. “Lord ‘Vadam has always been rather humble. It keeps his head cool in battle, and you can see how useful that trait has been to him.”

“Indeed…” Inzo stared at his father’s black Hundara. “Will Father participate in this year’s race?”

Khysan gave a hearty laugh. “The family would never miss it. And didn’t you hear? It appears humans will…” he shifted in his hooves uncomfortably. “…Participate this year.”

“Humans? On Hundaras? I doubt it! They’d be easy meals.”

“Oh, your father is aware of that! Apparently, they will be bringing their own mounts… Hoses, I think they were called.”

“And let me guess. The other Clans don’t like the idea, am I right?”

“The mere idea of humans participating in one of our most ancient traditions infuriates some of our people. Something tells me they will be happy to let their Hundaras feast on the humans’ weaker beasts of cavalry.”

As they walked out of the stables and into the scorching sunlight, Inzo watched the cavalry soldiers atop their Hundara, preparing themselves for the following days, when they would have to guard the family’s Hundara from thieves. Although their people had ships and vehicles to move around more quickly, the Taming of the Hundara continued to be one of the Sangheili’s most sacred traditions.

The House of ‘Vadam’s Hundara were among the purest bloodlines. Each keep had their own breed, but they were always trying to make their own Hundara ‘purer’ or with better characteristics than the others, which often led to sending rustlers after other Clan’s Hundara to breed them with their own. That was the reason the cavalry was under so much pressure, their honor depended on being able to protect the Clan’s precious mounts.

“Oh, I know that look, Inzo.” Khysan said after noting how the young Sangheili stared at the mounted warriors. “You will ask your father again this year?”

“Maybe. Father has said ‘you’re not ready’ so many times I’m starting to think he’ll never let me.”

“He has his reasons to think so and you know it.”

“I’m not reckless, okay? I am impatient, but not reckless!”

“Says the boy who nearly struck an Elder.”

“He started it!”

Khysan frowned. “Even if that were the case, that is not the way to handle it. You should have proven to him he is wrong instead of resorting to a childish reaction.”

“How am I supposed to do that if these days we have no battles to fight? How am I supposed to prove myself when we have no enemies to fight against anymore?” Inzo pointed out, sighing. “I wasn’t born back when the whole thing with the Covenant happened.”

“Someday you will find the answer you seek, young Inzo. For now, keep training hard and hone your skills.” With that, Khysan walked away towards some younger Sangheili, the newest additions to the Cavalry, probably to introduce them to the Taming of the Hundara.

Inzo eyes those two with a bit of envy before walking off to find his father. He better ask him before he went to meet with the Elder Council and had no time for him for the rest of the day, _again_. He had always wished for an Hundara of his own to mount and train with. He had more interest in the cavalry unit instead of wielding normal weapons or leading fleets of ships. But the right to taming an Hundara had to be _earned_ , in part because the creatures were extremely wild and violent and not everyone had the strength or skill to handle such aggressive animals. Only the high-ranked warriors were allowed to train an Hundara of their own, only those skilled enough to keep their mounts under control at all times.

This meant he wouldn’t get one until he reached the Ultra rank. And in their current situation, that would never happen considering he had no enemies to kill.

As he approached the Council Chamber, he could hear his father talking with one of the Elders, and judging by their tone, it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. Inzo hid behind one of the stone pillars. He had the feeling this was about the humans coming to Sanghelios for the Race, some elders did not like the idea, but their fears were well-founded. They didn’t know about the human mounts, but he did know the how Hundaras would react upon seeing much more smaller ‘prey’.

Thel and others, however, though it might be a good opportunity for the two species to interact and learn of each other’s culture. He wouldn’t be surprised if the humans were the ones to invite the Sangheili over to their natal world for some weird tradition, like that ‘Christmas’ celebration. To this day, he still didn’t understand what was the point in adoring a tree and wrapping gifts in paper if it was going to be taken off anyway, but he did admit the food for that celebration was tasty. The younger generations were much more flexible, to the point a few tried to make their own version of those strange holidays.

Finally, the elder seemingly realized it was pointless to even insist, so he walked off. Inzo waited until his father was alone, but as he was about to go out of his hiding spot…

“Eavesdropping on a private conversation is not acceptable.”

Inzo jumped when his father directed those words at him. Sighing in dismay, he walked out of his hiding spot and towards his father, stopping a few feet away and bowing his head respectfully. “Lord ‘Vadam.” He said. The ‘no special treatment’ included his father as well, and in rare instances could he call him ‘Father’. “I wish to have a word with you.”

Thel had the feeling of what he wanted, but nevertheless he nodded his head. “What is it?”

“As you know, the Race will be held in a week. I wanted to ask you if you’ve chosen a rider for QezoY’asabu.”

Thel remained silent. The question was there, camouflaged, he knew what his son wanted. As always, his black Hundara would be the participant in this year’s race, it was an unbeaten champion. Though it hadn’t always won, it always _survived_. Every year the Race claimed the lives of many Hundara and their riders, but QezoY’asabu always returned, alone or with the person who mounted it. Thel himself had raced personally a few times, and whenever they did victory was always theirs. Up to date, he was the only one who could fully control the black Hundara, the only one the beast listened to.

That his son thought he could mount it just like that was one of the reasons he knew he simply _wasn’t_ ready.

“Walk with me, Inzo.”

Inzo internally groaned. He knew what would happen next, his father would take him around and tell him the reasons of why he simply would not let him ride in the Race, but by then he knew better than talking back to the Kaidon himself, so he nodded and followed his father out of the room and down the corridors. As they were passing in front of the wide windows, both Sangheili could see the cavalry still practicing, and they saw the black Hundara had been let out unto one of the corrals. It was running around, exercising its legs and stretching out its wings while letting out angry shrieks.

“Do you know what the purpose of the race is?” Thel asked casually, his amber eyes staring at the black Hundara intently.

“It’s a test of survival and strength.” Inzo said almost in autopilot. He had pronounced these words before.

“Exactly. Do you know why?”

“Because only the strongest warriors and the purest Hundara survive.”

Thel nodded. “That’s right, but as you should know by now, having the best mount is of no use unless you earn its respect. It might as well leave you to die in the desert or devour you when hunger overcomes it.”

“I am well aware of the risks of taking part in the Race, Lord ‘Vadam.”

“Yet I see you have not changed your mind, son.”

Inzo was partly surprised his father had addressed to him like that, but he took it as a cue to temporally put the formalities aside. “Father, with all due respect, I think I’m ready to ride. You said that if I kept training hard you’d allow me to ride QezoY’asabu in the Race-“

“I know what I said, Inzo, but your skill is not good enough for you to handle _him_. You’ve seen what he is capable of, and the last thing the Clan needs is to lose the both of you because of negligence on my part.”

“But father, you said yourself I was progressing quickly for my age! The Elders think I should have tame an Hundara next year!”

Thel sighed. “I know what I said, Inzo. While it is true you do have natural talent at riding Hundara, there’s a big difference between riding an old mount meant for trainees in the corrals and riding a war mount in the middle of the desert.”

“But…!”

“Not another word on the matter, son.” Thel finished sternly. “As for your question, Mrydo will be riding QezoY’asabu this year.”

Inzo wanted to scream at his father, but the seriousness on his face made him reconsider. He was expecting him to do _that_ precisely. Swallowing the growl in his throat, Inzo bowed his head. “As you wish, Father.”

But he would not give up without a fight.

* * *

He waited until he was certain the rest of the Clan, especially his father, had gone to sleep. There were guards doing their rounds at this hours, but none of them would look for him in the stable. He put on his blue Minor armor quietly, he would need it to use his camouflage, the less possibilities of getting caught, the better. Inzo activated his camouflage and quietly opened his door, making sure there were no guards around.

Inzo quietly stepped out of his room and closed the door behind him, walking down the dimly illuminated hallways of the keep. The disadvantage of having his room in the upper levels was that he would have a long way to go, and right now he couldn’t afford to go fast and make his footsteps be heard by the whole Clan. The young Sangheili quietly made his way down the numerous stairs and levels of the fortress, avoiding the patrols of Honor Guards whenever he could, and narrowly avoiding being detected once.

Thankfully, the courtyards weren’t as heavily guarded as the Keep itself, so getting to the stables wasn’t as hard. However, he still didn’t let his guard down, if he awoke the wrong Hundara, it would make such a ruckus it would awaken the rest, which would in turn make ruckus of their own and _that_ would awaken the _entire_ fortress.

The stall belonging to the Hundara he was looking for was pretty far from the rest, and it was much larger, wide enough for it to run around if it wanted.

He would prove his father that he could do it.

QezoY’asabu was sitting on the ground, soundly asleep, his head hidden under one of his wings. He would not take kindly to being awaked, but now was a good chance to get on top of him without having to worry about losing an arm. Quietly, Inzo climbed over the gate of the stall and crept towards the black Hundara’s back…

The creature opened its golden eyes, its slit pupil staring right at him.

Inzo rarely had time to react as the Hundara shrieked and lunged, its talons landing just where he had been standing a few moments ago. The creature was, like he assumed ,crossed at having been awakened at this hour. He let out another shriek as he ran towards Inzo, his mandibles wide open and his wings spread out. Inzo panicked and made his way to the door of the stall, but the Hundara seemingly read his thoughts and stood just between him and the door, clawing the floor under its claws, challenging the Sangheili to try and go over it.

“Step back, Y’asabu!” Inzo yelled, standing his ground and trying to impose dominance like he had seen the cavalry soldiers do with their mounts. But the flaw was that it only worked with one’s own mount, Hundaras belonging to another person would not heed this warning. Inzo’s resolve started to crumble, and the black Hundara could sense it. “S-Step back…!”

As Y’asabu started closing in for the kill, however, a bullet of plasma exploded at his feet, startling him and making him step back. Inzo took advantage of the opportunity to run towards the door before the Hundara could go after him. He quickly climbed it and landed on the other side just before Y’asabu ran after him, stopping at the metal door and giving another shriek of anger, staring intently at Inzo before turning around and clawing at the ground indignantly.

Inzo had no time to be relieved, however. Standing a few feet away with crossed arms and a plasma rifle in one hand was a _very_ crossed-looking Sangheili who was wearing a sleeping robe, and had many scars on his face and arms, the result of working with Hundara for years.

“You are in so much trouble, boy.” Mrydo ‘Vadam growled, tapping his hoof impatiently.

“I can explain it.” Inzo said nervously.

“Oh, yes, you can. You can explain to Lord ‘Vadam what you were doing _inside_ QezoY’asabu’s stall at this hour.”

Oh, no. If his father found out he would never hear the end of it. “Don’t tell Father!”

“Give me one good reason of why I shouldn’t!” Mrydo growled. “What the hell were you trying to prove?! That Lord ‘Vadam was right in thinking you are simply _not_ ready to handle _him_ of all Hundara?! What would have happened if hadn’t arrived in time?! You’re fortunate enough not to have lost your honor with an injury! How would you have answered to your father had it happened?!”

Inzo wanted to argue back, but he knew he was right. His father was especially sensitive when it came to obtaining injuries, he would have never forgiven him had it happened. He hadn’t seen the scar, but he had heard about the injury his father obtained in the training ring once, and during his time as Supreme Commander wore a doarmir’s fur cloak to hide it.

“Go back to your chambers, Inzo.” Mrydo growled again, pointing to the doorway. “And I _will_ talk with Lord ‘Vadam in the morning.”

Inzo sighed internally as he walked away, feeling both Mrydo’s disapproving gaze and Y’asabu’s angry eyes on him.

He’d have all night to prepare for another of his father’s lectures.

 


	3. Chapter 2

The humans would arrive today.

Inzo assumed his father would have said something to him about what happened last night. He was pretty sure Mrydo had told him what happened last night, however that morning when Thel had come talk to him, he didn’t even attempt to scold him. Inzo initially thought Mrydo had pity on him and kept the secret, but when he looked into his eyes he realized he knew. Thel didn’t scold him or give him a lecture, but he could see the disappointment in his gaze, it was almost as if he didn’t expect anything else from him.

Inzo thought his father would send him to clean the Hundara stalls again, but instead he sent him to go with the welcome committee to receive the humans.

Just what he needed.

It as not that he hated humans, he didn’t, he had never met one personally. He had vague memories of seeing his father interact with some of them when he was but a toddler, but he had only seen them from afar. And he was on the edge, since they would bring their beasts of burden to Sanghelios, and he had no idea of how they looked like or how dangerous they were.

Inzo looked around. The few Keeps that actually agreed to this idea had sent some of their warriors as part of the welcome committee, among them the House of ‘Vadum, who counted itself as one House of ‘Vadam’s most unconditional allies. They had already set up large tents, the only sources of shadow in the vast desert. Although the humans were welcome on Sanghelios, the Councilors had demanded that their former enemies and their ‘beasts’ stayed a good distance away from their Keeps. It seemed old habits died hard.

Or perhaps they were worried the Hundara would try to gobble up a human or one of their animals, though Inzo could tell a few Councilors wanted that to happen.

He knew the humans had arrived when a large shadow spread out through the desert. Inzo looked up just in time to see various Pelicans descending. He guessed they came from a larger UNSC ship that remained on the atmosphere, as far as he knew those big ones were supposed to stay out in the atmosphere.

“How do you think their animals are like?”

Inzo jumped in surprise, then glared at his camouflaged companion. “Seriously, Zyko, don’t do that!”

Zyko chuckled as he deactivated his camo. He had a much more pale complexion than Inzo, which he obtained from his father Rtas ‘Vadum. And curiously, both boys also got their respective fathers’ friendship and loyalty to one another. “Sorry, but you have pretty funny reactions.”

“You’re lucky I am not allowed to carry an Energy Sword yet.” Inzo growled, though on the inside he chuckled at his friend’s antics.

“You shouldn’t talk about Energy Swords, considering I beat you the last time we practiced together.”

“I was distracted!”

“Riiight…” Zyko glanced at the Pelicans as they landed, and watched the humans, most of them dressed as Marines, other dressed a bit more formally and with a different color contrasting the green of the soldiers. He watched as the welcome committee and the group of fomal-dressed humans started to talk. “I wonder if they brought their animals in those things.”

“If they did, then they must not be as big as the Hundara. Heck, Y’asabo would barely fit inside a Pelican.” Inzo commented.

“Speaking of that black beast, who will be riding it this year?”

“Father asked Mrydo to ride him.”

“He’s your Clan’s top Hundara rider, right?”

“Yeah…” Inzo sighed in disappointment, which of course didn’t go unnoticed.

“You still want to compete?”

“I just want to prove to Father I’m strong enough to train an Hundara of my own!”

“Yes, I know how you feel.” Zyko leaned against the pole of the tent. “I’m not really into Hundara like you, but I want to become a top swordsman like my dad.”

“You have it easier than me! Heck, your father isn’t the Arbiter!”

“Well…” Zyko didn’t know what to say. He had a good point there. He glanced around to try and change something to change the topic, and almost in cue the last pelican lowered its boarding platform. Zyko narrowed his eyes when he saw something moving in there, and heard strange sounds. “Hey, look, I think those are the humans’ mounts. Wanna take a closer look?”

Inzo wasn’t really interested in human livestock, but shrugged. As long as he could get his father out of his mind for the time being, he didn’t mind, so he followed Zyko towards the pelican. A few humans stepped out of it, leading some strange beasts down the platform and unto the ground. They were considerably smaller than the Sangheili, but apparently big enough for the humans to get on top of them. They were quadruped, with long weird-shaped heads but small mouths, long hairy tails and… as they got closer, Inzo noticed this animal didn’t have any fingers, rather it had some sort of stone embedded on its long but thing legs. There were ten of them, and they were all of different patterns and colors, some of them reminded him of the color of a Hundara, others were completely foreign to him.

“Yup, definitely the Hundara will gobble those animals if they can.” Zyko commented.

Inzo didn’t hear what he say. He was staring at one of the humans who handled the animals. A female, younger than the rest, with a strange brown shade of skin, black hair and equally dark eyes. She was wearing the usual marine attire, but her hair was loose and she wasn’t wearing a helmet. The animal she was leading had gray skin with white spots on its back, with a darker color on its legs. Its hairy tail and the hair hanging from its elongated neck were an almost black color.

The animal raised its pointy ears and stopped, snorting in fright when it spotted him and Zyko.

“Soo, soo!” the woman cried out, pulling the rope that controlled the animal, and surprisingly it seemed to calm it down. She turned to look at both Sangheili, looking nervous, but she managed to regain her composure. “Sorry, it’s just he’s never seen one of your kind before.”

“And neither have you, right?” Inzo added, his mandibles surprisingly spreading out in a smile, though by the look on her and the other humans’ faces he guessed they thought he was growling or giving a menacing gesture.

“Can we help you with something?” another human, this one a male with pale complexion and strange accent, asked.

“Don’t worry, we just came to see your…” Zyko started, but blushed when he realized he didn’t know how these animals were called. “…what are they called again?”

“Horses?”

“Yeah, your horses!”

“You are free to come along, just be careful not to stand behind them or you’ll get a good kick.” A third human said, chuckling as he and the others started to lead the horses towards the tents, now properly raised.

Inzo and Zyko followed them closely, staring at the horses all the while, taking in all their characteristics and behavior. They seemed pretty docile and harmless, if they just followed the humans around without showing any aggression, but two in particular, one brown with black and another a very pale gray, seemed to be a bit more wild. However, their ‘aggression’ consisted merely of making their strange sounds and rearing up on their hind legs.

Yup, easy prey for the Hundara.

“I have to admit, they’re not exactly what I expected, but they look cool.” Zyko commented, staring amusingly at the two unruly horses. “I’m not sure about their intelligence, though, they seem pretty dull.”

“Right.” Inzo said, but his gaze was not centered on the horses, it was centered on the dark-skinned young woman that tended to the gray spotted horse. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt a strange attraction to her. She was pretty, and she looked like she wasn’t to be messed with. She was currently tending to the horse, brushing its coat off any dust.

“Hey, I’m talking about the horse, not about that girl.”

“I know, but…”

“Why don’t you talk to her if you’re so curious?”

“Are you kidding? Father would disown me if he thought I was interested in a female _human_.”

“Oh, come on, you won’t die just for talking to her, will you?”

Inzo sighed in dismay. It was a challenge, a subtle one, but Zyko was always teasing him about it. He gathered his courage and stepped closer to the girl and the gray horse, as soon as he got closer, though, the animal snorted and Inzo barely had time to avoid its hind leg as it tried to struck him (he heard Zyko snickering, he would get him for that later). The girl whispered something that sounded like a scolding in the horse’s ear, then looked to him apologetically.

“I’m sorry!” she apologized to him again. “But you _really_ should be more careful not to step in behind them. Horses cannot see behind them and if they hear something approaching they might think you’re a potential threat, and they will kick.”

“D-Don’t worry.” Inzo said, cursing himself for stuttering. He stared at the horse with genuine interest. “Can I touch it?”

“Sure. Be careful, though, like I said these guys have never seen your kind before, so she’s a bit on the edge.”

Warily, Inzo ran his hand down the horse’s back. It had fur, but it was very short and it felt sleek. The horse flicked its tail and stomped a hoof, snorting and pointing its ears backwards. “It’s a female?”

The human nodded. “Her name is Kamrya.”

Weird name. “And yours?”

“I’m Hannah. How about you?”

Inzo gave the traditional Sangheili greeting, bowing his head lightly and putting a hand to his chest. “Inzo ‘Vadam, from the House of ‘Vadam.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you.” Hanna held out her hand, smiling shyly at him. Inzo stared at it in confusion, and she remembered he was a Sangheili. “It’s a greeting, you give me your hand, and we shake it.”

Curious, Inzo reached out and grabbed her hand, and she lightly shook it. “It’s… interesting.”

“So…” Hannah looked around. “Are there any of your wyverns nearby?”

“Excuse me?”

“The creatures you guys mount.”

“Oh, you mean the Hundara? The Councilors thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to bring them close to your horses, and I can say they made a good decision. Don’t take me wrong, but the Hundara will gobble them up if they find a chance.”

Hanna raised an eyebrow. “Don’t underestimate horses. They are not as helpless as they seemed.”

A yell of pain startled the both of them, and turned their heads around to see Zyko on the ground, rubbing his back painfully. A black horse was neighing angrily, stomping its front hooves as one of the other humans tried to keep it away from the young Sangheili.

Inzo laughed at his friend’s misery, getting back for a few seconds ago.

* * *

The Hundara were getting restless.

They could smell new prey, even if they were kilometers away. It was an unfamiliar scent, a smell they had never smelled before, but the thrill of the hunt was too much for them to ignore it. It took their Sangheili handlers a good while to get them all back to their stalls, and even had to use the special locks on the stall doors to keep the Hundara from opening the latches. Those creatures had learned how to open it long ago.

Thel stared at Y’asabu’s dark body as he clawed the ground, giving shrieks of protest, trying to somehow break the lock on the door. Of course he would be the most excited to go ‘hunting’, he had been specifically bred for battle, and lately he hadn’t gotten his ‘thrill of the hunt’. That was the reason Y’asabu had been so eager to kill Inzo last night, he wanted a prey to kill.

Finally, Y’asabu gave up and went back to sulking around bitterly, all the while glaring at Thel. The Sangheili could see it in his eyes, he was loyal to him only, but he knew he could never fully trust the Hundara. They were as unpredictable as the desert that would be the host to the race. He had already received reports from the committee, the humans had arrived and thankfully there were no… incidents. He had to admit, he was curious to see the human livestock for himself, his warriors claimed they weren’t that much impressive, but it was better to know what they were up against, even if they weren’t a ‘worthy competition’ as he had heard other Keeps commenting.

He was worried about Inzo. If he had been as reckless as to get inside Y’asabu’s stall at night, completely unprepared and with no knowledge of how to keep the Hundara from cornering him, he didn’t want to think what he was capable of doing next just to prove himself. Wanting to prove oneself wasn’t a bad thing, but when this desire was clouded by recklessness the results could be disastrous. Y’asabu was particularly pick when it came to being ridden, he wouldn’t work with anyone he didn’t respect, many had lost their honor (and at times even their lives) trying to subdue him. This animal had its talons and mandibles stained with blood, and it _enjoyed_ it more than any other of the Keep’s Hundara.

He heard footsteps coming his way, but they were different from that of the Sangheili that tended to the Hundara, or the ones from one of the family’s warriors. These steps were lighter and gentler. He turned around and saw the most beautiful female he ever saw, his wife, the mother of his son, walking towards him. She was considerably smaller than him, and had a paler complexion, but beneath her seemingly fragile looks was the heart of a warrior. She was wearing a beautiful white robe that complemented very well with her skin, her bright amberish brown eyes which she had passed unto her son offering him comfort in these days.

“I thought I’d find you here.” She said, her voice as always gentle. She wasn’t intimidated at all by Y’asabu’s growl as she approached; she knew he wouldn’t even dare to attack her as long as her husband was present. “Are you still worried about him?”

“I don’t know what to do with him anymore, Ino.” Thel sighed sadly. “He has a good heart, but he is too reckless. He doesn’t think of the consequences, and you heard what happened last night… or rather, what could have happened.”

“He just wants your approval, my love.” Ino said. “He wants to prove himself to you, but he feels frustrated that nothing seems enough for you.”

“I’m proud of him, you couldn’t have given me a better son. He has skill and courage, he has great potential for greatness if only his vision wasn’t so clouded by insecurity.”

“Reminds you of someone?”

Thel chuckled. “I do admit, I did have my bad days back then.”

“Yet look at you now. Just imagine what our son will become one day.”

Y’asabu gave a growl of disgust as he saw the couple getting a bit too affectionate for his liking, snapping his tail and spreading out his mandibles as a warning. Thel frowned at him, pulling Ino closer into his embrace as a subtle sign to the Hundara not to try anything. Y’asabu understood the indirect, and bitterly turned his back on them, snorting.

“He’s still as stubborn as always.” The Arbiter sighed in dismay. “I hope Mrydo will be able to deal with him without getting eaten.”

“He’s one of the best Hundara Tamers in the Clan. I think he can handle even him.”

“And there’s also the humans to worry about. The Hundara are likely to try and kill them or their livestock for being ‘easy prey’. And judging by what I’ve been told of those… horses, they wouldn’t last long against the Hundara if they were to be attacked…”

And sadly, there were Councilors and other Kaidons who knew precisely _that_. He wouldn’t be surprised if they intentionally allowed one of their own Hundara to ‘escape’ and let it kill the humans, if only to show their discomfort with the idea of the foreigners participating in their race.

Hopefully they wouldn’t think of it any soon.

* * *

After the initial awkwardness and subtle discomfort passed, the two parties became a bit more open to each other, and the Sangheili were curiously examining the horses, who were less than happy about being sniffed around by two-meter tall aliens. In fact, unfortunately the Sangheili hadn’t apparently understood the ‘never stand behind a horse’ concept, since many had received a kick from the nervous animals, a few humans barely managed to contain laughs when it happened. They were learning the hard way that those animals might look harmless, but they were stronger than they seemed.

The suns had set a while ago, most of the warriors sent there had returned to their respective Keeps to inform their Kaidons, but some chose to stay behind and keep observing the humans’ livestock, and the handlers of the horses were more than happy to share their knowledge about horses with them. The equines had warmed up to the Sangheili walking around upon realizing they wouldn’t hurt them, but they were still wary.

The mare named Kamrya, in particular, hadn’t removed her gaze from Inzo all the time he spend close to Hannah. In fact, he was starting to think she was glaring at him; another of the handlers named Carlos told him to keep an eye on her ears, since it was a good way to tell what the horse was thinking. Ears pointing forward meant she was interested and curious, ears pointing in different directions meant alertness mixed with curiosity, but there were so many positions for those ears he got confused.

But he had the feeling the ears pointing backwards wasn’t a good thing.

“She’s staring at me.” Inzo said, dividing his attention between the gray mare and the fire they were sitting around.

“Don’t worry, she doesn’t like strangers.” Carlos explained, staring at Kamrya. She was standing with the other horses, but the others had either fallen asleep or weren’t really interested in what they were doing. “And she has the attitude.”

“They sure have the appetite…” a young Sangheili commented. “Heck, you feed them a whole sac of those seeds and they still want more!”

Zyko was staring at their hooves intently. “… I can’t believe they can bear having those metal shoes being _nailed_ in their feet…”

“Their hooves are made of pure keratin, so they don’t really feel anything there.”.

Hannah said casually.”

“And what about your wyverns?” An older, tan-skinned human, Tom, inquired. “Or how do you call them?”

“Hundara.”

“Right, think we’ll be able to see one of those soon?”

“Believe me, you _don’t_ want to see one just yet.” A young minor said. “They’re very aggressive, everything they see is a potential meal. Heck, even their riders are potential meals.”

Carlos shivered. “Sound nasty.”

“They _are_ nasty. Just ask Inzo.”

Inzo gave Zyko a frustrated smack, but when all the pair of eyes centered of him, he realized there was no way out of it. “When I was a child and my father introduced me to his Hundara, Y’asabu nearly killed me.” The other young Sangheili snickered, but the humans looked concerned and even worried.

“They’re _that_ bad?” Hannah asked.

“I was fortunate not to have had my blood spilled. My father is very… picky when it comes to _that_ in particular.”

“Anyway, perhaps the Kaidon of Vadam will allow one of the weaker Hundara to be brought, if only for you to properly document yourselves to avoid any… accidents.” The third young Sangheili commented.

Inzo turned his attention back to Kamrya the gray, she had finally lost interest in him and had lowered her head, closing her eyes. He was intrigued that such a frail animal had this air of dignity and elegance, he didn’t know how to explain it, but he guessed he just needed to know them better to understand. In a way, he envied the humans for having such easy-to-control and not as dangerous mounts.

Perhaps his father wouldn’t mind if he stayed overnight here. He had sent him to ‘make sure the humans didn’t have any troubles’, anyway.


	4. Chapter 3

Hannah woke up next morning earlier than usual. As expected, when she woke up it was still cold out there, the freezing wind was blowing even inside the tent she shared with the other few women that came to this event. They were still fast asleep, her friend Ginny was comically embracing her pillow and whispering to it; it was clear she missed her boyfriend Jim, who unfortunately had stayed behind on Earth for this mission. Hannah rolled her eyes, grinning a bit as she left her sleeping bag.

She slid into long gray pants and a green blouse, but she put a beige jacket on to avoid getting a cold before the race. She walked out of the tent as she tied her hair into a ponytail, glancing around and seeing everything was empty. The other humans were still asleep, and she could guess their Sangheili hosts had gone home. She couldn’t tell, she had gone to sleep earlier than the rest of the Marines. The sky was starting to lighten a bit in the distant horizon, she guessed it would be a while before the… three suns rose. Hannah made her way to the horses, and counted them to make sure they were complete. It wasn’t like she suspected the Sangheili would think of stealing the horses, but they had mentioned there were lots of predators around. Then again, they would have heard something if those predators had actually tried to attack.

Hannah spotted Kamrya placed between White Hoof and Benvolio. She raised her ears when she heard footsteps, but relaxed when she saw it was Hannah, letting out a snort of greeting.

“Good morning!” Hannah chirped, untying the rope that held Kamrya to the small, newly-assembled fencing, and leading her away from the other horses to a small spot. Kamrya momentarily spotted, lifted her head and moved her ears around. She had heard something, but when Hannah glanced around she saw no one. “It’s okay, girl, maybe it was a critter…” she said, patting the mare’s neck gently.

Kamrya snorted in annoyance, only to relax a few seconds later when Hannah started to brush the dust off her coat. Her ears pointed backwards in relaxation and she closer her eyes in delight, even giving a low snort everytime she was brushed in her most sensitive spots. Again, she moved her ears around when she heard the same sound from before, more footsteps, too heavy to belong to any of the humans; Kamrya snorted and bent her ears back once again, this time facing a particular direction only.

Hannah would have thought she was just hearing more critters if she hadn’t suddenly felt the sensation someone was watching her. She had momentarily forgotten the Elites had their camouflage. She turned around, narrowing her eyes at some footprints in the ground underneath… nothing, or so it seemed.

“I know you are there. Show yourself.” She said firmly.

Inzo chose to stay behind. He was intrigued by the horses, he had a thing for learning about new things, particularly things regarding Earth and humans. He had never been there, but he had seen a few pics on his father’s console, and he had to say it was a place he’d like to visit someday. If he didn’t have any potential as a Hundara warrior, at least he could apply for becoming ambassador to Earth.

After sleeping on one of the smaller tents, he woke up earlier than the humans to take a closer look at the horses, without getting too close, that is. They turned out to be light sleepers, the faintest sound put them on high alert, but thankfully they didn’t have the Hundara’s predatory prey and merely went back to sleep. He had been tempted to try and pet them, but thought against it, he didn’t want to receive a bite from one of those animals, or worse, a kick.

Then he heard someone coming out of the tents, and activated his camouflage just as Hannah came out of the tent and started tending to the female horse named Kamrya. He was appalled at how easily she could just go around the animal and touch it, she wasn’t afraid of the mare turning on her and killing her on spot, something the Sangheili constantly felt when around Hundara, even if they had been years together.

Inzo deactivated his camouflage, and relaxed when Hannah’s expression turned neutral. “Oh, it’s you.” She said simply, before turning back to tend to her horse.

“Sorry if I scared you.” Inzo apologized, lowering his head.

“You didn’t, Kamrya noticed you were there.”

“She surely has good ears.”

“Are you the only Elite here?”

“Yeah. The others returned to their Keeps, but I figured I could stay here and see the horses for a while…” Inzo grew alarmed when he saw Hannah lifting one of Kamrya’s legs up and taking out a small knife. “Hey, what are you going to do?!”

Hannah would have rolled her eyes, but she had to remember this was new to him. “Don’t freak out. I’m just going to remove some stones from her hooves so they don’t hurt her, it won’t hurt her in the least. Like I said yesterday, horse hooves are pure keratin.”

Inzo relaxed and felt like an idiot. “Sorry…” he looked away when his face turned a deep shade of purple, and tried to think of something to change the topic. “So.. Is she yours?”

“You could say so in a way. I don’t personally own her, but I’ve been taking care of her for two years.”

“You are a horse caretaker, then?”

“I grew up on a ranch, so technically I learned to ride before learning to walk.”

Inzo wondered if she was serious, or if it was a sort of way to say she knew about horses.

“What about you? Are you competing on this race?”

That question caught him off guard. “Well… I wanted to, but my father thinks I’m not ready to participate. Heck, I haven’t even gotten an Hundara of my own because he thinks I’m not ready.”

Finally, Hannah finished her job with Kamrya, and straightened up to stretch her back and arms. Inzo took a look at her chest, noticing it looked more… round and bulging out than he had seen on male humans. He wanted take a closer look, but he had the feeling she wouldn’t take it kindly, as far as he knew female humans were sensitive regarding their chests. And Hannah had such a confident air he had the feeling she would definitely kick his ass if he tried.

Hannah glanced at the young Sangheili. He didn’t look any different from the rest of his species, but Inzo in particular had dark scales, and instead of armor he was currently dunning a grayish-green short-sleeved robe with white edges, its skirt was short too, revealing his legs, quite fit for the climate. At that moment, however, she could tell he was cold because of the low temperature. However, Hannah only needed to look into Inzo’s eyes to realize that he was a good boy, and he had genuine interest in human culture.

“Why does he think you’re not ready?” she asked him.

“Well, he thinks I’m too reckless.” Inzo replied, sighing. He decided to change the subject lest he start talking personal matters with a human he just met. “So, are you going back to sleep?”

“I guess I could really take some extra naps… How about you?”

“Considering all my brothers took all available vehicles, I suppose I’m stuck here till later.”

“Wait, you mean you were here all night?”

Inzo blushed sheepishly. “Let’s say I was so curious about these horses I couldn’t help myself. Sides, I don’t have much to do at my Keep the days before the race. Everyone’s so busy preparing the Hundara…”

“Why do you always make it sound like they’re the devil on Sanghelios?”

“Believe me, you will know the reason when you meet one face to face.” Inzo pondered on her words. The devil on Sanghelios?

What was that supposed to mean?

* * *

At around midday, another group of Sangheili came to fetch a group of eight humans, among them Olympia Vale, who was more than delighted to learn of yet another custom. Inzo accompanied the group back to the Vadam State, in part because he wanted to see how Hannah reacted to the Hundara. The group was taken to the Vadam Valley, a rather lush area compared to the desert, by Phantom, and it descended in a clear area near some large corrals with high, metal fences, inside of which Hundara roamed.

The first to descend where the Sangheili themselves, Inzo among them, and afterwards came the group of humans, some of them carrying cameras and electronic pads to document the creatures. However, before a marine could get close to the fence to take a closer shoot at the Hundara, one of the Sangheili warriors quickly stepped in front of him, growling something in Sangheili language.

“Step back lest you want to lose a limb.” Olympia translated for the rest of the group. She didn’t need to ask the reason. Suddenly, the wyverns in the corrals, or rather the Hundara, sniffed the air, a few even opened and spread out their mandibles, which reminded Hannah of a flower opening its petals, but with sharp teeth. However, suddenly all the Hundara gave loud shrieks and almost immediately ran towards the humans, the only thing that prevented them from attacking was the metal fence keeping them apart. The group of humans jumped, some even dropped their cameras, when the Hundara’s claws came into contact with the metal of the fence, but it didn’t stop there. The beasts continued to shriek, stamp their talons and some even attempted to jump over the fence, but the highest bar in it would give painful electric discharges to any Hundara who tried to jump over it. The Sangheili were used to these outbursts, and so they didn’t even move.

“Holy shit-!”.

“Oh my god, they look like winged raptors!”

“We’re supposed to race against those things?! They’ll gobble us up!

Hannah stared with wide eyes at the Hundara, who by then had apparently calmed down, but their golden eyes were set on top of them, eyeing her and her fellow marines hungrily. They had the same body structure, but their size, characteristics and body were different in their own ways. Most of them had reddish with black spines on their backs and light yellow underbellies, while a fewer had a beautiful shade of sand or gold scales with the same black spines on their backs. She glanced at Olympia nervously, and even though the older woman had been taken aback by the sudden attack, Hannah could tell she was actually intrigued by the creatures.

Olympia was no fool, with one glance at the Hundara she could tell why even the Sangheili were wary of these animals. She guessed they could control them enough to keep them from harming the humans, though, otherwise the Arbiter wouldn’t have invited them to participate. Olympia took a few tentative steps forward, not close enough to the fence for the Hundara to try anything, just enough so she could take a closer look. She felt the Hundara’s hungry eyes set on her, she heard the hisses and growls on their throats.

“ **Be careful, miss.** ” One of the Elites told her warily in his birth tongue. “ **They kill for pleasure, not always for hunger.** ”

Olympia nodded, her attention centered on a particular Hundara, smaller than the rest, she could tell it was much younger, perhaps a ‘baby’.

Inzo eyes the pack of Hundara as they continued to stare at their intended ‘prey’, studying them, already calculating strategies to hunt the humans and if they would be much of a fight. He wondered if his father would show up soon… His answer came in the form of a piercing shriek, louder than the ones the other Hundara had given. He would have laughed at the way the humans cowered in fright when they saw a large, black Hundara _out of the fence_ running towards them with outstretched wings, but Inzo saw a very familiar figure atop it.

Y’asabu’s mouth was watering at the sight of the smaller humans, the source of the new smell he had caught hours ago, but he was signaled into a halt by a quick pressure on his sides. The black Hundara gave a shriek of protest and spread out his mandibles to show discontent, but nevertheless came to an abrupt stop, spreading out his wings to brake completely, sending a gust of wind forward unintentionally and making three humans fall backwards.

Thel rubbed Y’asabu’s neck both to calm him down and to signal him to lie down, which the Hundara did without protest, allowing the Arbiter to get off him. However, he could tell Y’asabu’s hungry gaze was still set on the humans, he would wait for a chance to leap and gobble one up. Because of this, Thel stayed by Y’asabu’s side, his hand still on top of the beast’s neck to keep him down.

“I bid you and your company welcome to my state, Miss Vale.” Thel said gently, referring to Olympia as he heard most humans refer respectfully to women most of the time, but he bowed his head in respect. “I do hope you had a comfortable journey.”

Olympia returned the gesture respectfully. “Thanks for your concern, Arbiter. Though I must admit your… entrance did scare some of my men.” She glanced back at the Marines who had gone back on their feet, who stared at the black Hundara in apprehension.

Thel chuckled. “I apologize for scaring your men, I thought it would be best if I presented you to the Hundara who will compete for my Clan personally.”

Inzo stared at his father and Y’asabu, secretly awing at how he could keep the creature under control with just a hand, or rather how the Hundara respected his father enough to actually obey him. Still, he knew Thel would never actually _fully_ trust the Hundara. None of their people ever came to trust a Hundara completely; they knew they were double-edged swords, loyal to one Sangheili in particular but also driven by their predatory nature, as their ancestors had learned the hard way on the first Taming of the Hundara.

“He’s quite a specimen.” Olympia commented, stepping close enough to examine the Hundara, but not close enough for it to try and snap at her, but she did feel its piercing eyes staring at her hungrily. “He has a different coloration than the others…”

“It’s uncommon, but it also shows he’s rather… unique.” Thel explained, rubbing Y’asabu’s scales. “A Hundara’s coloration tells much about it, the black ones are known for being very loyal and though, and I must say, Y’asabu has never failed me. I won four times with him back in the day.”

“Will you ride him this year?”

“I’m afraid this year I will not be able to run, but a trusted member of my Clan will take my place.”

Inzo shuddered in discomfort. That could have been him if only his father would trust him. When the Hundara in the corral gave aggressive growls at the humans and clawed at the bars, Thel allowed Y’asabu to stand, knowing he would not attack the humans this time. Y’asabu gave a loud shriek and spread out his wings as well as his mandibles in a show of dominance which made the rest of the Hundara step back from the corral, the smaller ones hid behind the adults. The humans watched in awe as a single aggressive stare from the black ‘wyvern’ was enough to send the rest of the creatures away, making them run away into the heart of the corral. Hannah thought the Hundara would now target them, but to her surprise the Arbiter simply needed to say the word ‘down’ firmly to have the creature sit down again, although she could tell it was resentful at the command.

Once he made sure Y’asabu would not try to hunt his guests, Thel turned to the humans. “You’re free to look around, but be sure to stay away from the Hundara. As you have just witnessed, they are very avid hunters.”

Inzo froze when his father looked at him. “Inzo, be sure to keep an eye around in case the Hundara try to do something.”

The young Elite bowed his head. “As you wish, Lord ‘Vadam.”

* * *

Although the Sangheili warriors assigned to keep an eye on them to avoid any accidental killings on the Hundara’s part had told the humans to stay close, Hannah just couldn’t stand by when there was so much to see. So while the rest of the marines took pictures, filmed and wrote in the electronic pads, and Olympia had accompanied the Arbiter on the black Hundara (much to her amusement), she snuck around the corrals, careful not to call the creatures’ attention. She could tell Inzo was following her around, but she didn’t mind right now, especially when he might save her from a Hundara.

She could see that despite their aggressive nature, they were very social. Sadly she couldn’t tell the difference between males and females, but from what she was seeing they treated each other equally to some extent in the gender area, but she could notice a sort of dominance order. She saw some Hundara growling at others in particular, others gave warning hisses, or even fought amongst each other, though those fights weren’t that serious. She noticed a most of the Hundara had scars of some sort, some were very small, others were large, but they didn’t seem to be scars made from whips. Given their aggressive nature, she could imagine how they obtained them.

They were so different from the gentle horses she was so used to. Horses would never turn on their riders no matter what, but it seemed these wyvern-like animals wouldn’t doubt it if they were hungry. Suddenly she heard a gate opening, and quick hooves on the ground. She turned around to see a few strange deer-like animal with sandy coat running inside the corral, and much to her horror the Hundara gave loud shrieks and went after them. Hannah gasped in horror as one by one the animals fell at the sharp talons of the Hundara, their blood staining the ground, further splashing as the Hundara were soon trying to feed as much as possible, a few even driving the others away from the whole carcass to claim it for themselves, while the less dominant or smaller growled in contempt, telling the more dominant ones to share.

Hannah felt her stomach revolting at the sight, and the sound of flesh being ripped apart from bones, the talons soaking in blood and further splashing it across the sand and the ground. She felt the acidic vomit coming up her throat, and took her hand to her mouth. The last thing she wanted was to vomit in front of so many Sangheili. In the last moment, Hannah ran towards a patch of grass and gave out to the contents of her stomach. Her eyes became teary and her throat hurt because of the sudden pressure, her head became dizzy, and momentarily she lost track of her surroundings. She didn’t have time to react just as she was pulled away from the fence, which she hadn’t noticed was close to the patch of high grass, just as a small Hundara’s head went through the bars and whose mandibles closed just where her head had been a few seconds ago.

Inzo panicked when he saw Hannah getting too close to the fence of the Hundara-and a bit disgusted when he realized she was vomiting, though after such a spectacle it wasn’t a surprise-, especially when he saw one of the younger Hundara notice her proximity to the bars, and he darted towards her at the same time the animal did, pulling her back just in time as the Hundara closed its mandibles on the empty air, letting out a shriek of frustration.

“What the hell, Hannah?!” Inzo snapped, lifting Hannah of the ground and noticing her skin looked paler. “Hannah? Are you okay?”

“Holy shit…” she managed to say, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. “They killed-! They-!”

Inzo managed to figure out what she managed to say, especially with the sound of the Hundara feeding on the Colos’s carcasses. “Oh, that. Usually we give them already cut meat, but sometimes we have to let them hunt the Colo to keep their prey drive in check.” Unfortunately, the event had caught the attention of one of the stable hands, who ran towards the pair.

“ **What were you thinking?!** ” he snapped in Sangheili, spreading out his mandibles and directing his words at the both of them, though his gaze was on Hannah. “ **You nearly lost your head, human! You should be more careful!** ”

Hannah obviously had no idea of what he was saying, but she could tell he was scolding her, which was confirmed when Inzo defended her. “ **Please forgive her recklessness, brother. Her weak stomach couldn’t bear to witness the Hunt of the Hundara, and in her hurry to vomit she didn’t notice she was too close to the fence.** ”

Thankfully, the older Sangheili accepted the justification, though he was still frowning. “ **Why are you so protective of her in particular, young Inzo?** ”

Inzo didn’t know the answer himself, but he had to say something. “ **For the sake of our peace with the humans, we cannot let the Hundara touch a hair from any of their heads. And the rest of our brethren are helping the rest of the humans’ group document the Hundara to be properly informed for the race.** ”

The stable hand muttered when he was reminded the humans would participate with their inferior animals. “ **Frankly, I do not understand why Lord ‘Vadam approves of such heresy to one of our people’s oldest traditions**.”

It was Inzo’s turn to growl. “ **If you disagree, why don’t you go mention it to him now that he’s here?** ” He was challenging him, and he knew he wouldn’t dare complain to his father. Mostly because he knew it would be futile, once the Arbiter took a decision there was no way to convince him to change his mind. A trait most of their people shared. ‘Stubborn as a mule’, as humans said. That mule guy must really be stubborn if he was used as a comparison to them regarding stubbornness.

Hannah had recovered enough by then to speak “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, mister.” She wasn’t sure if he understood English. She guessed he did to some extent when he rolled his eyes and walked away, muttering in his natal tongue. She realized Inzo was still holding her arm, and she abruptly released it from his hold, rubbing it. “Boy, you sure have a strong grip!” she said in annoyance.

“Sorry.” Inzo apologized. He hadn’t noticed he was holding her too tight. “You did give me a good fright, though!”

“Why did you bring us here to witness…” she couldn’t even glance back at the scene. “…that?!

“Lord ‘Vadam wants you to know who you’re competing with.”

“Well, he could have simply told miss Olympia about your animals’ carnivorous tendencies!”

“Believe me, words cannot even get close to truly describing the Hundara’s preying drive.” Inzo sighed in dismay, glancing at the corral. “I know by experience, if you recall.”

Right. She had forgotten last night he told them about his experience with those creatures when he didn’t heed his father’s warning. With some courage, she managed to look at the group of Hundara once more, trying to imagine them as simple lions feeding on a carcass, like she had seen on documentaries.

But she couldn’t help but worry at the thought of galloping with Kamrya next to those creatures.

What if they saw her beloved mare as prey?


	5. Chapter 4

 

“This is dumb!”

“Trust me!”.

Inzo watched in amusement as Zyko continued to swing the end of the rope, all the while slowly walking after the bay horse, who was galloping in circles around the temporary corral the humans had made, without getting too close. Some of the humans were snickering at the sight, but he as well as the rest of the Sangheili were confused as to the purpose of this exercise.

“What now?” Zyko called out again. “I’ve been doing this for ten minutes!”

“Okay, now stop and turn your back on her!” Carlos called out.

“About time!” Zyko dropped the rope and did as told. A few seconds later he heard the horse’s hooves coming closer to him slowly from behind, and was momentarily startled when he felt the horse’s nose touching his arm. He subtly turned around and saw the animal had walked closer and was sniffing him out with its ears forward. “Well… hi there, whatever-you-were-called.” He wasn’t afraid of it, but he didn’t want to scare it off again.

“See, this is called a join-up.” Carlos explained as he approached Zyko. “The purpose is to bond with the horse through body language and positioning. The horse feels segregated from the herd leader, or in this case the handler, and it will act appropriately to be accepted.”

“Makes us wish Hundara could be won over that easily too…” another young Elite muttered. “

“It’s not as easy as it seems, some horses have more aggressive personalities and might take a few sessions like this one to earn its trust completely.”

“Tell me…” Zyko rubbed his back where he had received a good kick form one of those animals. “

“So, since we’re showing you how to handle horses, think you could somehow show us how you handle your wyverns?” a young woman with auburn hair inquired in curiosity. “When the Arbiter approached on the black one, I noticed it didn’t have reins of any kind.”

“Reins are for beginners, human.” Inzo explained. “The most experienced riders can command the Hundara with pressure of the legs on the Hundara’s thighs alone.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“You don’t believe me?” Inzo frowned at the woman.

“Sorry, but it’s hard to believe your ridiculously moody and aggressive wyverns can be stopped with just a little pressure on the sides.”

“Once you earn their respect, they listen to you even if you’ve lost it.” The a fourth Elite explained, glancing at the girl again. “As for your request, the Kaidons said we couldn’t bring an Hundara here to avoid any… accidents with your horses, _but_ they didn’t say anything about taking you to see with your own eyes.”

Inzo, Zyko and the rest of the present youngsters whipped their heads to their brother with look of shock. “Have you lost your mind, Kero?” Zyko snapped. “The other Kaidons will not take kindly to taking a group of humans to their Keeps! You know how some of the Clans are regarding them!”

“We don’t have to take them _inside_ their keeps, just take a peek in the Hundara corrals.” Kero’s mandibles gave way to a grin directed at Zyko. “Sides, I hear there are a few trainees in your Keep who will be going through the Taming.”

“Oh, no.” Zyko rapidly shook his head. “My father will kill me if I take humans there without permission from the Kaidon!”

“We don’t _all_ have to go.” Ginny suggested. “I don’t think they mind only _one_ human with a camera to record it.”

“Sides, if what you say is true and those wyverns are capable of killing their potential owners, it’s not a sight we’d like to see.”

The young Sangheili agreed on that detail, if they themselves felt horrible when they had, either intentional or accidentally, witnessed the failures in the Taming of the Hundara, judging by Hanna’s reaction at a simply hunting exercise their human companions wouldn’t bear seeing an Elite being torn apart by a Hundara.

“Fine, let’s suppose we _can_ sneak one _human_ in there.” Zyko continued, crossing his arms. “The Kaidon will be present at the Taming, and if I get caught, he will place the responsibility of it on my father, who will in turn ban me from training with the sword for weeks!”

“Hannah could go.” Carlos suggested, ignoring the look of shock and dismay he got from her. “She’s pretty good at going around undetected, not to mention she seems to have quite the talent at talking with Elites.”

Inzo wondered if Carlos said it because he had noticed how he got when around Hannah. He felt a shiver down his spine when he saw the glare Hannah was giving the male human.

“Carlos, I swear, if this is because of what happened in the bathroom-!”

Carlos simply shrugged, chuckling. “Karma’s a bitch.”

* * *

Definitely, crossing Hannah was not a good idea. During the whole way to the Vadum Keep (which thankfully wasn’t much far from the Vadam Keep’s territory), Hannah didn’t say a word and muttered while making sure the camera had enough battery, but Inzo and his fellow Sangheili could tell she wasn’t in the mood to talk. It felt like she was a dormant volcano that would erupt at any moment and burn any unfortunate people close enough, them in other words.

While significantly smaller than Vadam Keep, Vadum Keep was located near an oasis in the middle of the merciless desert, the main fortress was near one of the lakes, and the Hundara corrals were in the outskirts, in part because the Hundara could spend long without water, much more than the Sangheili themselves, in fact. The Phantom landed in the outskirts of the corrals, but Inzo and Hannah made sure to drop down when the motors made sand go flying, Hannah hiding the camera in her jacket to make sure the lens didn’t catch any dust.

Inzo led Hannah to the vegetation near the training pen, where a few Hundara-about five years old, or a bit more older, exemplars- which were ready to be ‘claimed’ by a warrior had been put. They were shrieking in distress at being separated from the pack, and two were ‘bickering’ with each other, though their aggression didn’t go from beyond snapping their tails and spreading out their wings.

“Whatever happens, just don’t let them see you.” Inzo whispered to her. “The Kaidon of Vadum won’t take it kindly if he finds you here precisely at _this_ time.” And if his father found out he was part of this, he’d be in _big_ trouble. Again, and the last thing he wanted was to give his father more reasons not to trust him.

“Don’t worry, I won’t move much nor will I make too much noise.” Hannah whispered. “I just want to record it from a safe distance.”

They were soon joined by Kero and Saza, just as one of the young warriors was allowed into the pen. Inzo felt his heartbeat accelerating when he saw what was going on. The Hundara hissed, spreading out their mandibles, one of them even spreading out its wings in a threatening posture, it was establishing its dominance and trying to scare off the ‘intruder’. Hannah took a look at it, it had gold and black scales and the characteristic yellow eyes, but it was a bit smaller than the others. She wondered if females were more aggressive or if males were, as usual.

Much to her surprise, the young warrior didn’t flinch or step back, he stared intently at the Hundara, giving a warning hiss himself. Some Hundara hissed and stalked off without taking their eyes off him, but the gold and black one stayed in place, curiously tilting its head and clicking its mandibles while giving small growls.

“What’s going on?” Hannah asked as silently as she could, both to avoid detection and so that her voice didn’t ruin the video.

“The first rule to dealing with Hundara is not to let them intimidate you.” Kero explained. “If they sense a weakness, they will attack and it’s the end of it. You have to stand your ground and prepare for anything. To tame an Hundara you have to earn its respect and show it you are the dominant of the pair, though as you know, subordinates will eventually want to rise in rank.”

That kind of explained why the Hundara weren’t fully trustworthy even to their own riders. “What is he supposed to do?”

“It depends on the Hundara’s character. The majority will attack you to establish dominance, which ends up with blood spilled and a killing due to the difference in size. Others are curious and won’t be as hard to deal with, and there are also the devils who will try to kill anyone who comes close.”

“Would you mind to give a summarized version?”

Saza rolled his eyes and took it from there. “That Hundara is of the curious variety, apparently, so all he has to do is to get it used to him being around, and then to touch before trying to get into his back. That usually takes weeks or months, depending on the affinity between the Hundara and its potential rider.”

“If he will take longer to being actually able to ride it, then what’s the big deal?”

“The Taming of the Hundara is a sort of sorting ceremony.” Inzo explained, watching with a little jealously as the young Elite started circling around the Hundara, who equally circling around him with spread out wings and mandibles. One wrong move and it would be over. “Each warrior claims one Hundara as their own, and the Hundara claim a warrior as their own at the same time. The weaker Hundara will let anyone get on them, but usually once the seeds of the bond have been sown the Hundara will fight side-by-side with one single warrior for the rest of their lives.”

Inzo had always wondered how his father had felt when he took part in the Taming of the Hundara and chose-and was chosen-by Y’asabu. As a child he doubted the black Hundara could love anyone, but whenever he saw his father interacting with him, he could always see the mutual respect and strong bond between them, Thel sometimes didn’t even need to speak an order outloud. One glance, one expression was enough to let Y’asabu know what he wanted him to do. And though it wasn’t often, Inzo was lucky enough to witness a few pats and gentle strokes Thel had given Y’asabu without worrying about losing his arm, though precisely because _it_ could happen this scenes weren’t very common. He noticed how humans constantly caressed and patted their horses, showing just how easier it was to handle them. He and Zyko had managed to take a look at those beasts’ teeth (with help from one of the handlers, of course), and those flat teeth let them know they were herbivores, which also explained their gentler character.

Inzo and Hannah watched apprehensively as the young warrior and the Hundara started approaching each other warily, though the both of them could tell the young Sangheili was doing his best not to show any signs of fear.

“What now?” Hannah inquired.

“If they are compatible with one another, the Hundara will let him touch it for a brief moment.”

“Are they participating in the race?”

“Are you kidding? They just met each other, it wouldn’t be wise.”

“I mean this clan.”

“Oh.” Saza scanned the area for a particular Hundara, and found it taking a nap in the nearest corral. “Yeah, they will race with Kedara, that female resting over there. She’s their best, though I’m not sure who will ride her.”

Just then, the young warrior stretched out his hand warily, and the Hundara stretched out its neck to sniff it. Two things would happen: either the Hundara would press its nose against the young Sangheili’s hand, accepting him as its lifetime partner, or reject him and attack him, at that position it wouldn’t take the creature long considering he had taken no weapons.

Thankfully for Hannah, the former happened.

* * *

After managing to sneak away from the corrals, Hannah asked Inzo if she could take a look at ‘Vadam Keep’s Hundara. He wasn’t sure at first, considering some members of the ‘Vadam family wouldn’t be fond of a human snooping around, but thankfully his father had no problem with it, though he did warn Inzo not to take her near Y’asabu’s stall under any circumstances.

And despite the warning, that was precisely what she wanted to do, given her visit was restricted to the exterior. She had to admit, the animal’s color reminded her of a Friesian, a Friesian with claws, wings and mandibles, along with a terrible attitude and diabolical intelligence. She continued to ignore the looks of distaste a few veteran passerby members of the clan had given her, the majority chose to ignore her completely, and a select few were open enough to start a conversation with her, among them Inzo’s mentor, Khysan ‘Vadam. Judging by how he and Inzo interacted, sometimes she wondered if they were related by blood.

“I’ve been hearing about your horses from the youngsters, miss Hannah.” Khysan pointed out with a gesture on his mandibles, which she interpreted as a smile. “A pity I wasn’t able to see them with my own eyes. They do sound interesting.”

Talking about horses always made Hannah feel excited, it was a topic she was really interested in. “Most of them are Arabian, they are the most fit breed of horse for your climate and landscape.”

“How many breeds of that creature do you have in your planet?”

“Over 350 breeds of ponies and horses.” Hannah had to contain a laugh when she was Inzo nearly dropping the bucket of water he was holding when she spoke the number. Khysan’s expression remained unchanged for the most part, though his yellow amberish eyes did open a bit in surprise. “I know, it may sound a bit too much, but humanity needed transport means before modern vehicles were even invented.”

“You said ‘ponies’ _and_ horses…?” Inzo inquired.

“Oh, ponies are a much smaller variety of horse. There are also the much larger breeds used for heavy-lifting. How many breeds of Hundara do you guys have?”

“Five.” Khysan explained to her patiently. “The most common are red with black, then the more-uncommon golden with black, the all-black variety like Y’asabu here.” He glanced at said Hundara, who lifted his head in pride. “And the rarest are the white Hundara.”

“You mentioned a fifth too.”

“Green and black.” Inzo said. “But those are the weakest and no one wants them, if one is born it is usually killed.”

Hannah blinked. “You kill it just because of its coloration? That’s a waste in my opinion.”

“Green Hundara are smaller and not aggressive enough.” Khysan replied. “If we don’t kill it at birth, the rest of the Hundara are likely to kill it for being a runt. In a way, we save those a lot of pain.”

“What’s the difference between one color and the other, anyway?”

“Apart from how aggressive and hard to tame it is? Their speed, endurance and prowess in combat. You could say the red ones are the ‘calmest’, the gold Hundara are smarter and very cunning. Black Hundara are especially hard to tame, but once you do they are especially loyal to you until their death. And the white Hundara…” Khysan sighed in dismay. “Those are very rare to obtain, and very hard to tame. They are the most bloodthirsty and aggressive, and they are picky when it comes to who is worthy of riding them.”

Hannah felt a shiver run down her spine when she heard his tone. It was foreboding and wary, as if he had personally dealt with one of those before and lived to tell the tale. Inzo noticed. “Don’t worry, we don’t have any white Hundara. Though if you ask me, Y’asabu has an attitude that matches one.”

At the comment, Y’asabu shrieked at Inzo in annoyance and turned around, snorting. Khysan chuckled. “Not with Lord ‘Vadam.”

Hannah continued to stare at Y’asabu with great interest. She should be scared of him, but for some reason he captivated her with his shiny black scales and prideful nature, his gaze when he glared at them, she found it hard to believe he could actually be docile around someone. She felt curiosity at Khysan’s words. “He belongs to the Arbiter, right?”

“And you could say my father belongs to him too, in a way.” Inzo commented.

“How did he tame it?”

“It’s a long story, miss. But I will be happy to tell you if you wish to hear it.” Khysan replied. He chuckled inwardly when he saw Inzo’s face, he knew the boy wasn’t fond of hearing tales of how his father surpassed all expectations, but those tales were meant to teach the younger generations lessons of how life was like, and the consequences certain actions brought, for good or bad. Besides, Khysan wasn’t the type to leave ladies waiting.

“It happened long ago. Lord ‘Vadam met Y’asabu on the Taming of the Hundara, when he was but a young child. He was captivated by Y’asabu, who at that time was known only as ‘The Black Death’ due to his habit of attacking and killing any potential riders. The youngsters who saw such scenes usually wanted nothing to do with him then, but not Lord ‘Vadam, instead he vowed to claim the Black Death someday.”

“And so, he studied the Y’asabu thoroughly, he would watch him and learn to interpret his body language, he would watch from afar but in a spot where he knew Y’asabu could see him. No matter how many shrieks or growls or warnings he received, he stood firm. And finally, the day when he took part in the Taming of the Hundara came.”

“Lord ‘Vadam chose to go last, in part because he had noticed Y’asabu _always_ grew tired after attacking whoever tried to get on top of him, and many of these attempts took their toil on him. When it was finally his turn, Thel didn’t immediately try to bond, he knew the Black Death wouldn’t even let him get close enough, he knew it would drain his precious energy.”

“What happened then?” Hannah inquired, her eyes bright and alert, while Inzo just leaned against one of the wooden beams with his eyes closed, though he was listening intently.

“He provoked Y’asabu subtly, knowing he could use his pride to his advantage. When Y’asabu attacked, it only took Thel one swift movement to avoid his talons and get on his back. Hell broke loose at that moment, if he fell off, Y’asabu would end with his life. And even if he survived the attack, having his blood spilled would dishonor him. He held on to Y’asabu’s back as if his life depended on it, it went on for hours and it seemed none of them would emerge victorious.”

Hannah was becoming increasingly immersed in the tale. Before she knew it, she had said something. “It sounds like a rodeo.”

Inzo and Khysan decided to save the question of what a ‘rodeo’ was until they were done with the story, and the latter continued. “Y’asabu did what he could to knock him off. Jumping, clawing, running and stopping, but nothing he did loosened Thel’s grip on him. And finally, it happened. Y’asabu knew he had lost when his strength started to leave him, he had wasted his energy on the other youngsters who failed to claim him. By the end of the day, Thel had claimed Y’asabu as his own.”

Hannah had to say she was impressed. She had heard the Arbiter was… unique among his own kind, but she just never knew how much. The Taming she had seen earlier wasn’t this impressive, though judging by Y’asabu’s character she guessed that to do with the Hundara’s personality. The only thing that stopped her from going to give the black Hundara a pat was the hungry glance it was giving her. She glanced at Inzo and noticed his expression was neutral.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t impressed at the story, he _was_ impressed, it was just that he had already heard plenty of his father’s tales, and everytime he was reminded of it he felt small in comparison. He tried to think of something to change the topic of the conversation, and recalled Hannah had mentioned another word in the middle of the story.

“Hey, Hannah, what exactly is a ‘rodeo’?”


	6. Chapter 5

 

While Inzo was not allowed to tame a Hundara of his own just yet, he _was_ allowed to ride Et’ze, an old green Hundara that was kept around for the younglings. Unlike a common Hundara, this one was not as aggressive or blood-thirsty as his kin, but it did have a bit of a temper. Still, Inzo felt attached to him to some extent, he was the first Hundara he ever rode who didn’t try to eat him, and the handlers often stated Et’ze loved kids, and not as a meal. This was the main reason he was not sacrificed at birth like it often happened to the green Hundara. He was kept as away from the rest as possible, however, since he was not as strong or deadly as them, and Y’asabu being… Y’asabu would most likely kill him to get rid of any potential rivals for the ‘highest dominant male’ in the pack place.

His father already knew of his small bond with Et’ze, so he never had any problem with Inzo going out on it. The some of the young Sangheili’s fondest memories as a child were when his father taught him to ride an Hundara with Et’ze, before being taken to the common rooms…

Still, Inzo wasn’t experienced enough to ride without the reins, so he led Et’ze through the desert by giving him gentle thugs in the leather cord; the green Hundara’s mandibles were so sensitive he merely needed a small thug to know in which direction his rider wanted him to go, so Inzo calmly led him through the desert around the humans’ camp. Et’ze might not be as inclined to the Hunt as the rest of his brethren, but better safe than sorry, especially with so many horses around there.

Besides, at least Et’ze listened to him without criticizing him.

“Father insists I’m too reckless, but come on, it’s not like he wasn’t reckless when he was my age, am I right?” he said.

Et’ze snorted and shook his head as a negative reply.

“Seriously? Come on, it’s not like you were already born when dad was my age!”

This time, Et’ze glanced back at him with slit pupils and a somewhat annoyed look, even stamping his talon on the ground.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to call you old! It’s just a comment, sides, I’m not reckless.” Inzo blushed when Et’ze’s expression didn’t change, rather it seemed to become even more annoyed. “Seriously? You too? Just when I thought at least you of all people would be on my side!”

Suddenly, Et’ze diverted his attention from Inzo and glanced towards the human camp, sniffing the air, and Inzo soon saw one of the horses galloping towards the desert, with one human on top of it. Upon closer inspection, he soon recognized the horse was the mare Kamrya, and top of her was none other than Hannah. Before he could do anything about it, Et’ze had already darted away and was running at top speed towards the horse, spreading out his wings.

“Nonono, Et’ze!” Inzo pulled the reins, but Et’ze paid him no heed. “It’s not a meal! If you do something to a delegate dad will kill me!”

The sooner they got closer to Hannah and Kamrya, the more worried he got. There was nothing more dangerous than a Hundara on a Hunt, but when the initial surprise passed he realized Et’ze’s body language didn’t any kind of aggression or hunger. His wings were close to his body and his neck was stretched out upwards. When they were a few meters away, Kamrya became aware of their presence, and she let it out by stopping and giving a loud neigh.

“Whoa, there! Easy, girl!” Hannah barely had time to pull the reins, but her heartbeat accelerated when she spotted the cause of her fright. Seconds later, she realized who was on top of the green Hundara.

Inzo finally managed to make Et’ze stop a few feet away from Hannah and Kamrya. Hannah had by then managed to calm her horse down, but Kamrya was nervously staring at Et’ze, her ears bent back against her skull as she stomped her front hoof.

“What were you thinking?!” Hannah snapped at Inzo, rubbing Kamrya’s neck in a futile attempt to soothe her. “You could have killed us!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to scare you!” Inzo defended himself. “Et’ze here was curious about your… horse.” He gestured to the green Hundara, who was tentatively stretching out his neck to sniff the mare despite her warnings to stay away. “He is too old to hunt, anyway.”

“I thought your father didn’t let you ride Hundara.”

“Actually, he doesn’t think I’m ready to _tame_ my own, like you saw yesterday. He thinks I’m too reckless. Et’ze here is not mine, but he lets anyone ride him.”

“He’s green… Isn’t that the breed you said was considered useless?” Hannah felt a shiver when Et’ze glared at her with slit pupils, growling. Kamrya snorted and returned the glare to the wyvern-like creature, despite the difference in size.

“Well, he’s not ‘useless-useless’. He’s… non-aggressive, unlike the majority of Hundara, so he’s often used to teach the younger children how to ride. Et’ze is the only Hundara dad has ever allowed me to ride.”

Hannah sighed in dismay, wiping some sweat from her forehead with her arm. “You gave me quite the fright, you know. Ever since one of those things nearly chomped my head…”

“Sorry again.” He decided to change the subject. “Say, how fast is your horse?”

“The others might not admit it, but in my opinion, Kamrya is the fastest horse. She’s a purebred Arabian, descended from champion racehorses.”

“It would be interesting to see if she can keep up with an Hundara.”

Hannah smirked. “Is that a challenge?”

“You could say so. Since I’m not participating, it would be the closest thing I’d get to racing against a human, though considering Et’ze is old and is not fit for racing, technically you have an advantage.”

Et’ze stamped his talon in annoyance at the comment and glared back at Inzo with an undignified snort.

“Come on, you know I’m kidding!”

“Okay then…” Hannah took a look around and saw a rock formation a few miles away. “The first to get to those rocks wins.”

Inzo turned towards said rocks, and noted it was a good distance away, though not far enough to endanger his companion. Hopefully predators were very scarce around this area, so they had nothing to worry about in that case. “Okay.”

Both led their mounts to a particular spot, from where they could get a good running start, with no rocks or any sort of obstacles. Kamrya stomped her hoof on the ground, anxious to start running, while Et’ze simply snorted.

“Okay…” Hannah took a deep breath. “Ready… set… go!”

With one swift kick to both creatures’ sides, they were off. Hannah hadn’t been lying when she said her horse was fast, it could keep up with Et’ze, but eventually the Hundara’s higher agility allowed him to get ahead of the horse in less than a few seconds. Unfortunately, like Inzo said earlier, Et’ze’s poor breeding and advanced age didn’t take long in catching up, and his speed started to diminish little by little, enough for Kamrya to catch up rather quickly. Inzo didn’t dare to ask too much of Et’ze, knowing precisely these two factors. Naturally, Et’ze’s exhaustion gave away and he started slowing down, allowing Kamrya and Hannah to get ahead of them and cross the landmark first, granting them the victory.

“Woo-hoo!” Hannah cried out form the saddle, turning Kamrya around to go back to her companion, patting her horse’s neck affectionately. “Good job, girl!”

“Okay, I admit, maybe I did underestimate these horses!” Inzo said, rubbing the back of Et’ze’s neck. Et’ze was panting heavily, but overall he looked upset at having lost against a much smaller opponent. “Though I don’t think you would have won against Y’asabu.”

“No, because that one would have probably eaten us.”

To Inzo’s surprise, suddenly the horse started to move her legs in a rather… comical way, he might say. She simultaneously lifted the right front and left rear legs, then placed them down and lifted the opposite almost in a rhythmic way. Et’ze stared at her with a tilted head and a small purr-like sound. “What is she doing?” the young Sangheili inquired curiously.

“It’s called piaffe.” Hannah explained, patting Kamrya’s neck gently. “It’s a trick one can teach horses, in Kamrya’s case she does it when she’s happy.”

He couldn’t contain a small chuckle. “Interesting.” He couldn’t imagine Y’asabu, or any Hundara for that matter, doing such a silly thing. Suddenly, Et’ze lifted his head and sniffed the air, and whatever smell he caught got him in a defensive mood.

“What’s wrong…?” Inzo patted the back of his neck in an attempt to calm him down, but then he spotted whatever caught his attention… Various figures were moving fast across the desert. “What’s that?”

Hannah turned around and spotted said moving spots; she quickly took out small, black binoculars from her saddlebag and lifted them up to her eyes. She spied about ten wyv-Hundara, she corrected herself-of the red variety, all ridden by Sangheili males wearing some sort of desert clothes. “It’s some Elites riding Hundara… Ten, I think…”

“What?” Inzo gently moved Et’ze closer to Hannah’s steed. “May I?” he reached out for the binoculars, which she lent to him without protesting. He would have started to examine it curiously, but he had see what was going on. Due to the position of his eyes, he could only zoom one through the lens. However, he did manage to catch a glimpse of the Hundara riders heading towards…

“Shit.”

“What?” Hannah inquired.

“They’re heading towards my clan’s Hundara corrals. I have to do something!”

“I’ll go with you.”

“No! It would be my responsibility if something happened to you!”

“I’m not helpless!” Hannah snapped sharply, ignoring the protests as she kicked Kamrya into a gallop and headed after the group.

“She’s going to get killed, dammit-!” Inzo barely had time to kick Et’ze into a burst of speed to go after her. He _had_ to admit, she had courage if she was willing to stand up to those warriors _and_ the Hundara… That, or she wished to kill herself, which he doubted.

They both followed the mysterious group of riders towards the ‘Vadam Keep’s corrals, where the Hundara were kept, but the group headed behind some large rocks. Hannah and Inzo rode to a small cliff that overlooked just above the group, both dismounted and silently crawled to the edge, careful not to make any noise. They didn’t exactly hear what they were saying, but Inzo could tell what their intentions were. It was pretty common in the days before the race for rival clans to try and steal the favorite Hundara, or for rustlers to steal the purebred racers either to sell for a high price, or to enhance their own Hundara breeds.

“What are they doing?” Hannah whispered, asking.

“They want Y’asabu.” Inzo said grimly, noticing the black Hundara was outside in the corrals, even in this distance he could spot him from afar.

“Is he that special?”

“In his youth he was the undisputed champion of these races, and even though he’s in a more or less advanced age he hasn’t lost his edge. It’s natural other clans would want Y’asabu’s genes in their Hundara.”

Two of the riders below them rode off towards another direction, while the eight remaining riders had their Hundara sit down to avoid being spotted. Ten minutes later, both groups noticed smoke rising on the horizon. Almost immediately, Inzo saw the workers rushing out away from the corrals, while the Hundara shrieked in confusion at the new smell.

Y’asabu was usually kept in a separate corral the days before the race, in part to keep him from attacking the rest of the males to establish his dominance and obtain scars and wounds. For the rustlers, this was a good chance to steal him without intervention from the rest of the creatures.

“We have to do something.” Inzo whispered. “If they steal him, it would be dishonorable to race with another Hundara when the other clans are preparing for him specifically.”

Hannah groaned internally. Sometimes she was annoyed at how obsessed the Elites were with honor, but she was no one to judge. Sides, she had also heard they didn’t take judging of their cultural views very kindly. “Any ideas?”

“Hannah, I thank your for your help, but I cannot let you aid me.”

“Seriously? You really think you’ll be able to take them all on by yourself.”

“Both your mount and you could get killed, those warriors will probably allow their Hundara to do so!”

“How are you sure I came here unprepared?” Hannah said, silently crawling back and getting back on her feet to take something out of the bundle of cloth behind Kamrya’s saddlebag. It was one of those big, snipper riffles humans used for long-distance shoots. How she could carry such a heavy weapon with her young, thin arms was something Inzo couldn’t figure out, but he did figure out she wouldn’t take the question in a good way. “I might not be able to get close to those guys, but I can shoot them from a distance.”

“Do you know how to use it?” Inzo asked, genuinely surprised.

“I’ve shot rabbits and geese since I was eight, so I can handle an Elite on top of a wyvern.”

Deciding to save the question of what a rabbit and a geese were for later, Inzo went back to Et’ze, who was still sitting down on the rock a good steps from Kamrya. She wasn’t the only one who had an ace under her sleeves, going out into the desert unarmed was suicide. Inzo took out the handle of an energy sword from Et’ze’s saddle, and activated it. Kamrya gave a small jump or surprise at the weapon, snorting.

Hannah smirked. “Now we’re talking.”

* * *

Their orders were rather simple: capture Y’asabu and transport him to a safe place. Much to their luck, the black Hundara was alone on the corral, apart from the rest of the pack, but it had the feeling something was going on. Its head was high, its pupils slits, and it was sniffing the air warily.

Once they were certain there were no more guards around, the head of the group, a large Sangheili with a long red scar across his face-a constant reminder that these creatures should never be underestimated-had his red Hundara stand up and run towards the fence, prompting his companions to do the same. One shot from his plasma riffle at the gate’s padlock was enough to unlock it, and allowing the Hundara to rush inside.

Y’asabu shrieked in anger at the intrusion in his territory, and spread out his wings in a threatening posture. One of the male Hundara belonging to the riders responded with a roar of his own, clawing at the ground and spreading his own wings. Before Y’asabu could run to attack, however, a thick lassoed-rope was thrown at one of his legs, and he fell to the ground with a loud thud, growling in pain. Y’asabu went back to his feet and attempted to jump towards the Sangheili who had thrown the rope, but another lasso was thrown, this time aiming at his neck, again unbalancing the Hundara on the air and making him fall to the ground.

This went on a few more times, Y’asabu attempted to attack the trespassers, but everytime a part of his body was lassoed, and the rustlers had their mounts step back to tighten the ropes, eventually rendering the black Hundara immobile. The scarred Sangheili mounted down from his Hundara and warily approached Y’asabu, ignoring his shrieks of anger and attempts to get back on his feet.

“With your reputation, I thought you’d be harder to capture.” He sneered, pressing one of his foot down onto Y’asabu’s head, earning yet another growl. He had enough experience with Hundara thefts to know it wouldn’t be long before the Vadam’ warriors returned. “Move it on! We have to take him to the safe place before they come back!”

Before they could drag Y’asabu away, however, suddenly they heard a shot from a human weapon, and one of the Hundara gave a shriek of pain when it felt something pierce into its leg. The animal fell to the ground with shrieks of pain, taking its rider along with it. The rest of the Hundara growled in confusion, while the riders still on top of them looked around in shock.

“What in tarnation…?!” the scarred Sangheili went over to the fallen Hundara, which continued to shriek and squirm on the ground in panic. He saw the purple blood scurrying down its leg from the tiny wound.

Before he could react, he heard another shot, and another Hundara fell to the ground with shrieks of pain. There was another loud shriek, but this one sounded weaker and not as loud as those of their own mounts.

Inzo let out a yell of anger as Et’ze ran closer to the rustlers, and knocked down one of the riders from his mount with his energy sword. Y’asabu was momentarily stunned when he realized some of the tension of the ropes holding him down lessened, and in the corner of his eye his saw Inzo approaching fast on top of Et’ze.

While he had never trained in mounted combat for lacking a mount of his own, Inzo had learned quite a few things from watching his mounted brothers practicing. One of them was that since Hundara depended on their legs to move around, an injury could affect their locomotion. With a loud yell, Inzo sliced the nearest Hundara’s leg, giving it a large injury; the Hundara gave a shriek and fell to the ground, taking its rider along with it.

The scarred Sangheili stepped away from the fallen Hundara, and took a look at the rocks located some meters away. He barely managed to catch a small gray animal, and a human who lifted her head from her riffle when she noticed he was looking at her. He glared at two of the still-mounted warriors who were not on holding Y’asabu down, snarling in their native tongue. “ **Don’t you just stand there! Go take care of that human!** ”

Inzo cursed under his breath when he saw the two Hundara running towards Hannah’s spot, but he couldn’t leave Y’asabu with these men and risk them managing to drag him away. However, when he heard another shot form the riffle and one of the Hundara tripping down, taking its rider down with it, he figured she could handle herself for a few more seconds.

“Et’ze, watch my back!” he yelled at the green Hundara as he jumped off his back and ran over to Y’asabu. Et’ze understood and stopped one of the riders before they could come closer, exchanging growls and snarls with its own mount. Y’asabu continued to shriek in anger at its current, rather impotent situation, so much it snarled at Inzo as he got closer, despite his good intentions.

“Look, the sooner I’m done with these ropes, the sooner you’ll be free to get your payback!” Inzo snapped at him. “But if you stopped moving, maybe you’d make it easier!”

Y’asabu was momentarily annoyed at being yelled at by the kid, but it vanished when he saw him slicing apart the ropes holding him down, and felt instantly reinvigorated. Et’ze, meanwhile, did his best to keep the other Hundara away, but his old age was catching up. Another roar caught the group’s attention, and Inzo half-expected to see more rustlers, but instead he saw Mrydo approaching fast on top of his brownish gold Hundara, Mor’kun. Soon he was locking swords with the other riders to keep them away from Inzo.

The final rope snapped, and Y’asabu went back on his feet with a mighty shriek of anger, knocking Inzo off his feet momentarily, but he didn’t care. Realizing they stood no chance against an enraged Y’asabu, the scarred Elite quickly climbed back into his own mount just as it rushed past him and rode away. Y’asabu wasn’t satisfied with that, and ran after him with a shriek to drive the intruder away from his territory. With Y’asabu safe and sound, Inzo’s priority quickly shifted to making sure Hannah wasn’t eaten.

“Inzo! Are you alright?” He heard Mrydo asking him.

“Mrydo! We have to help Hannah, she will stand no chance against two Hundara!” the younger elite retorted, signaling to the spot Hannah was.

Mrydo got ahead of Inzo and headed towards the rocky formation up ahead. If a human was killed on Sanghelios, it could start yet another war, and now was not a good moment for that, for either of their species. Inzo was quick to climb on top of Et’ze and go after Mrydo.

Curiously, by the time Mrydo got there first, he noticed the human female wasn’t having much trouble in defending herself, she had managed to injure one of the Hundara, as its leg was bleeding and it was almost limping despite its attempts to ignore the pain. However, her main goal was to protect her own mount, which stood no chance against the larger predatory creatures.

Mrydo’s sword came into contact with one of the riders, knocking him off his mount, lifeless; however, the fallen rider’s mount gave a shriek of anger and soon was exchanging tail blows and bites with Mor’kun. Although experienced, Mrydo hadn’t prepared himself for this, which the other thief took advantage.

Inzo arrived in time to hear Mrydo’s scream of pain as the thief’s sword sliced into his leg.

“MRYDO!”

Hannah had been reluctant to deliver any killing shots since she didn’t want to risk the fragile state of peace between their peoples, but when Inzo’s yell intermingled with Mrydo’s scream, she knew she had to do it if only to protect herself, Kamrya, and the two friendly Sangheili around. Reluctantly, she pulled the trigger and fired a clean shot aiming at the thief’s heart. The Sangheili fell to the ground, dead. The other two Hundara would have posed a problem, but Y’asabu was returning from his chase, and gave a loud shriek, provoking them into going after him.

Inzo jumped off Et’ze’s back without bothering to wait for him to sit down, and rushed towards Mor’kun; said Hundara quickly lied down to allow his rider to get off. The smell of blood usually sent the creatures into a feeding frenzy, but Et’ze’s unusually docile temperament prevented him from losing it, and Mor’kun was so well-trained he could keep his appetite under control.

Mrydo’s mandibles were spread out in a scowl of pain, but it was nothing compared to the blow on his pride. Hannah and Inzo got closer to help him off Mor’kun-in reality, Inzo was the one who helped him down due to size and weight difference between Mrydo and Hannah-to help him sit down against one of the rocks, but Hannah had already gone to Kamrya’s saddlebag to look for something to treat the wound.

“Damn it…!” Mrydo growled, staring at his injured leg. His purple blood was staining the sand, but that was the least of his worries.

“It looks like it’s deep…” Inzo muttered, but he dared not to touch the large cut. He had the feeling Mrydo would get pissed if he did, he had lost _blood_ , after all. Thankfully, the fact he had obtained the injury from _fighting_ against two thieves who sought to harm one of the human visitors kept his honor intact.

Hannah was soon next to them with bandages, a napkin and a bottle with a strange liquid. However, despite the pain Mrydo moved his leg away, glaring at her. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“I’m trying to help you!” Hannah snapped.

“What is that thing?”

“It’s hydrogen peroxide. It’s for disinfecting wounds.”

“How can I know it won’t make things worse?!”

“Look, we can waste time and more of your blood while arguing, or you can trust me on this!”

“Don’t worry, Mrydo, she knows what’s she’s doing.” Inzo assured the older Sangheili, and thought. “ _I think._ ”

Mrydo glanced at his still-bleeding(and hurting) injury, and then at the hydrogen-thing Hannah held in her hand. It was a rather primitive-looking healing method, but it looked harmless. “…Fine, but at least tell me how it works!”

“It’s simple. Hydrogen peroxide is to disinfect wounds, but I must warn you it hurts like hell. Afterwards, I just wrap the bandage around the wound to keep any bacteria away while you get proper medical attention.” Hannah explained, waiting for him to give her approval.

After a few more seconds of pondering, Mrydo nodded. Inzo just watched as Hannad poured some of the clear, transparent liquid into the cloth and then pressed it against the wound. Hannah had half-expected the Sangheili to start growling in pain and try to move his leg away, but much to her surprise, he only had a puzzled expression.

“Human, I thought you said it ‘hurt as hell’.”


	7. Chapter 6

Inzo and Hannah had to wait until the ones stable hands returned from the site of the fire to properly treat Mrydo’s wound. Much to Hannah’s annoyance, however, he refused to have a doctor brought, insisting it wasn’t necessary to make such a fuss, but it was evident the blade had cut deep into the tissue. In fact, when he tried to get back on his feet, it stung so terribly he had to sit down once again. They informed the Arbiter of what had happened, and it wasn’t long before he arrived personally to make sure Mrydo was okay. He was genuinely surprised to learn that both his son and the human prevented the rustlers from stealing Y’asabu.

Hannah stuck around mostly because she was worried about Mrydo’s state, though she was still surprised the alcohol she used to disinfect the wound didn’t hurt. Or rather, the amount of pain it cause was mild compared to the injuries they obtained in wars. Inzo was more worried about what his father would say about the whole thing.

“Who were they?” Hannah asked as they took a small walk outside.

“Thieves.” Inzo said bitterly. “They’re pretty common in the days before the Race. Some clans hire them to steal the Keeps’ prized Hundara to keep them from participating, or to breed them with their own Hundara and improve their bloodline.”

“I don’t know why this sounds like that old cowboy movie about a race across the Arabian desert.”

“Say, you weren’t exaggerating when you said you knew how to handle a riffle.”

“Like I said, I grew up shooting geese and hares. Before you ask, geese is a bird, and a hare is a small mammal, both are popular hunting targets back on Earth. These days, though, people rarely hunt anymore, we had bigger problems.”

“I guess you’re talking about the War….”

“On the bright side, since people were too busy fighting against… you, many threatened species of animals got to repopulate without the poaching, illegal hunting, and environmental destruction..”

“Are these horses among those treathened… species?”

Hannah chuckled. “You wish. Horses have been vital means of transportation, even after cars and planes were invented people still like having horses around.” Then she sighed sadly. “With all the available technology today, horses are now rarely used, except in certain places where the terrain is not fit for machines, and the horse racing.”

That spiked Inzo’s curiosity. “So you do have races in your homeworld too?”

“Well, yes, but they’re not like this type of race. Generally you just put a bunch of thoroughbred horses in a racing track, and the first one to cross the finish line is the winner.”

“Is there no combat in those races?”

Hannah shook her head. “No. You just push your horse to go faster and try not to get left behind.”

“Don’t take me wrong, but it sounds kind of… boring.”

“Maybe, but if you bet on the winner then you earn lots of bucks. I hear you sort of do the same in this race.”

“Yeah, except that we have to run across the desert, and Hundara aren’t generally as meek and obedient as your horses are.”

“I’ve noticed.”

Hannah glanced casually at one of the corrals, and jumped back warily when she saw Y’asabu approaching. However, the black Hundara was not hissing, growling or giving any sign of aggressiveness. Inzo stood in place, staring up at him and avoiding any movements to provoke him. Y’asabu ignored Hannah and directed his golden gaze at Inzo; however, instead of growling like he usually did, he made a strange purr-like sound and tilted his head to one side lightly. It would have made him look ‘cute’ ifit weren’t for the sharp talons, torn wings and imposing size.

“Y’asabu?” Inzo said out loud, wondering what was going on.

Although Hannah didn’t step closer, she had an idea of what the creature wanted to say. “I think he’s thanking you for… Well, you know, saving him from those thieves.”

“Oh…” HE felt awkward, mostly because he never imagined **Y’asabu** acting this way towards anyone except his dad, Still, he nodded. “…Well, your welcome…”

Y’asabu snorted and walked away from the fence.

“That was… unexpected.” Hannah whispered.

Inzo sighed. “Father’s never going to believe me…”

“Believe what?”

Hannah jumped when she heard the newcomer’s voice behind her, but Izno didn’t react; he was used to his father sometimes sneaking up on people. Hannah had never personally met the Arbiter before, but she had heard lots of things about him, most of them positive. In a way, she kind of understood why Inzo felt so small in comparison.

“Well, I got the feeling you two need some… father-son time, so I’ll go check on… Kamrya....” Hannah whispered, dismissing herself subtly as she went to check on her own mare.

Both father and son were silent for a few moments before Inzo finally asked. “How’s Mrydo?”

Thel sighed. “He will be fine…”

“There’s something else, isn’t it?” Inzo inquired, noting the worried tone in his father’s voice.

“He won’t be able to walk for a few weeks. I’m afraid he won’t be able to ride Y’asabu in the race.”

Wonderful. Mrydo was their best Hundara rider, and frankly the only Sangheili Y’asabu respected enough to allow him on his back, other than his master. And it was only five days before the race, they wouldn’t have enough time to look for another one Y’asabu was willing to accept without tearing him/her to pieces.

“What will we do, then?”

Silence. Whenever his father took long in answering a question, usually he was pondering it and looking for the best way to answer… or didn’t know what to answer at all. For the time being, he was just staring at Y’asabu, unintentionally prompting Inzo to do the same. Y’asabu was making advances on one of the red females, but she was clearly not in the mood; she let out warning hisses everytime he tried to approach her rear.

“I never thought he’d be the Casanova type…” Inzo commented as he watched the black Hundara’s failed attempts at courting.

“Casanova?” Thel inquired curiously.

“Human word used to refer to males that… well, who are charming enough to seduce females into the bedroom, and the next morning he leaves to look for his next conquest.”

Thel couldn’t help but chuckle. “I suppose your human friend told you.”

“She called her friend… Carlos a ‘ _casanova’_ , and I simply had to ask what she meant by that.”

“I spoke with Mrydo. He said you were brave in engaging the thieves by yourself… or foolish.”

This time, it was Inzo who chuckled, more of embarrassment than anything. “Well, you could say a little of both. It wasn’t by myself completely, Hannah covered me with her riffle.”

“Indeed. She looks like a tough female.”

As they continued to watch Y’asabu’s failed attempts at courting the red female, both couldn’t help but note how they hadn’t had a good father-son time in a while… ever since Inzo was old enough for the common rooms. Thel couldn’t allow himself to show any sort of ‘favoritism’, all their children were raised as equals regardless of who their fathers were… at least he was of the few fortunate whose children actually knew who their fathers were. And given his… status, this distance also prevented his son from becoming arrogant due to his father’s position in society, teach him that respect and rank had to be _earned_ with his own merits.

While Inzo _had_ proven he had gotten Thel’s skills in combat, his prowess and cool head, unfortunately he had gotten stubbornness and recklessness from his mother’s side. Sometimes he let his emotions or pride cloud his judgment, or acted without thinking this is why Thel didn’t consider he was ready for the Taming of the Hundara; one wrong move could cost him his honor… or life.

And yet, when he heard Inzo had been the one who fought and stopped the rustlers, he had been proud. Sure, he was aided by the human named Hannah, _and_ Mrydo, but he had the initiative to stop them in the first place.

Besides, he _had_ seen Y’asabu thanking Inzo for the action. It was a very rare occurrence; being a prideful creature, and knowing his importance to the Keep’s reputation, Y’asabu was quite spoilt, and did not accept anybody he didn’t consider worthy of him on his back, let alone show gratefulness. But this time, he did acknowledge Inzo’s role in saving his scaly hide, and let Inzo know he was aware of it.

Perhaps…

“Who will ride Y’asabu in the race now?” Inzo asked, not bothering to delay the question any further.

“I’ll have to talk it over with the Elders.” Thel replied. “It’s won’t be easy, and with so little time…” he glanced at Inzo. “Inzo, did you get to recognize the thieves?”

Inzo shook his head. “No, but one of them had a red scar on his face. I think that was the leader.”

Thel remained silent for a few more seconds, before turning to see his son. “Think you could keep an eye out to make sure they don’t come back?”

“Yes, father.”

“Good.”

Inzo didn’t feel bad when his father started walking away without saying another word, he was kind of used to it, though sometimes his apparent indifference _did_ hurt. However, he didn’t expect his father glancing around to look at him one more time.

“You did well, son.”

Those three words might have sounded brief, but to Inzo, they were enough, even better than a whole speech of praise would have been. Even if those kind of words and moments were rare and short, it always let him know that even if sometimes he didn’t live up to expectations, his father loved him and appreciated that he tried his best.

“Thanks, father.”

* * *

Hannah decided to stick around a little longer, despite Kamrya’s protests. It wasn’t everyday you got to explore an alien environment, after all. It had taken her lots of begging to allow the higher-ups to let her come, hopefully her family owning an Arabian horse-breeding center helped. So she meant to enjoy this experience as much as possible.

She led Kamrya by the bridle as she walked around the corrals, not too close to avoid any more disturbances with the Hundara. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what Inzo and the Arbiter were talking about; though she doubted they were discussing over with tea and biscuits. She spotted Y’asabu, the black one, getting rejected over and over by a red female(at least she thought it was a female), until he got tired of it and just sulked off… towards their direction.

Kamrya stomped her hooves and snorted as a warning, but the black one didn’t care. He knew he was larger and could finish her off in an actual fight. Hannah could tell he had survived many fights, judging by how many scars he had, most of them not visible from afar.

“You better get used to us being around for a bit more, pal.” Hannah told Y’asabu, ignoring his threats too as she led Kamrya towards a nearby tree to sit underneath. Curiously, it kind of reminded her of the trees in African Savannahs, but larger. Though there were a few herbs and grass around, Kamrya would not touch it; her wariness and common sense were stronger than her appetite. Hannah started searching in the mare’s saddlebag and took something out: a small harmonica. Kamrya stared at it with raised ears and a delighted gaze.

“After what just happened, I think we deserve a bit of relaxation, don’t you think?” she asked the horse.

Kamrya snorted in agreement.

Smiling, Hannah sat down on the tree and lay against the bark. Once she found herself in a comfortable position, she started to play a lively tune. Kamrya gently pressed her ears against her skull, out of relaxation this time, and snorted in delight, even going as far as to close her eyes.

The Hundara, Y’asabu included, lifted their heads at the unfamiliar but pleasant sound, some of them even gave chirp-like purrs as they look around for the source. Y’asabu was the closest, and the first to figure out it came from the human. He approached fence of the corral, but he wasn’t reckless enough to try and cross it. He merely stood there, listening intently to the sound. Soon he was joined by the rest of the pack, but the younger ones received a shock from the fence when they tried to go further.

She was so immersed into the playing she did not notice Inzo approaching, also attracted by the sound. He even considered startling her, but decided against it in the last moment, not wanting to invoke her… wrath. Instead, he approached and called out. “Nice music.”

Although slightly annoyed for the interruption, Hannah stopped and glanced towards him. “After Kamrya nearly got eaten by those Hundara, I owed it to her.”

Kamrya snorted in discomfort when the music stopped, and turned her head to glare at the young Sangheili… at least he thought she was glaring at him. And the mare was not the only one; the Hundara had started to growl and shriek when the music stopped, Y’asabu in particular stomped one talon and shrieked, demanding Hannah to continue playing.

“Man, I never noted I had an audience…” she muttered.

Inzo approached the tree when Hannah made some space for him, indirectly welcoming him to do so. Once he was close enough, he could take a better look at Hannah’s instrument. It was very small, so much it could fit in only one hand, but she held it in both. His curiosity got the better of him. “Hannah, may I take a closer look at it…?”

Hannah shrugged and held it out for him. “Just be careful, it’s very delicate, and given that you seem to have a stronger grip....”

He partly understood her concern, and she _was_ right; his hands were bigger and had a stronger grip. He examined the instrument carefully; it was made of a sort of metal, and there were holes on both sides, though on one side they were smaller. He noted it had swirly carvings too, probably for decorative purpose. “How do you call it?”

“It’s an harmonica.” Hannah explained. “It’s a reed wind instrument. Nowadays it’s hard to find one because most consider it ‘old school’ or ‘junk’.”

“Reed wind?”

“You blow air into it with your mouth to play it.”

“Oh…” Inzo stared awkwardly at the harmonica. Blowing was not precisely a Sangheili thing; the shape of their mandibles prevented them from doing so. He brought the harmonica close to his mandibles and tried to blow into the holes, but he could only produce a little air; this managed to make the instrument sound, though it was so low he almost didn’t hear it.

Y’asabu got impatient and let out another shriek, followed by the other protesting Hundara.

“How about you play something else before they jump over the fence?” Inzo said nervously as he handed the harmonica back to its owner.

“They could do that? I thought you said the fence was electrified.” Hannah pointed out.

“Believe me, if a Hundara wants something, _nothing_ will stop it.”

Figuring out she didn’t want to see them actually _climbing_ the fence to get to her, she started to play another song, this one a bit more lively than the last. Kamrya and the Hundara relaxed, though their way to show it was different. Most of the Hundara remained still, listening to the harmonica intently, while others gently swayed light right and leftwards with their eyes closed, almost as if they were dancing. Y’asabu merely stood, purring in delight.

Inzo listened to the music intently, and found it _very_ relaxing. He closed his eyes to listen to Hannah’s tune more intently, and soon he found himself lulled by it. He had no idea if it was because of the tune, or the sound itself, but he certainly found it appealing, almost like the breeze from the desert on cool days, or his mother singing him to sleep when he was an infant.

He was so immersed in the music it eventually took him a while to realize it had stopped. When he opened his eyes, he noted Y’asabu was staring at his direction amusingly while the other Hundara had gone back to their own business. He glanced at Hannah and felt a shiver when she gave him an amused, partly annoyed look.

“I didn’t know it was so boring.” She said with a tone that made him wonder if she felt offended, or toying with him.

“No, it’s not boring!” he defended himself when he felt those earth-colored eyes on top of him. “I just found it so relaxing…”

“I noticed!”

“I didn’t mean to offend you, Hannah. My apologies.” To his surprise, she laughed a bit.

“Come on, don’t take it so personal!”

Inzo felt embarrassed, but hopefully his cheeks did not betray him; Y’asabu did, though, apparently he read the young Sangheili’s expression and gave a snicker-like growl. Inzo looked away and growled at him. “Shut up.”

Y’asabu snorted and turned away to go back to his favorite female.

* * *

Later that night, Inzo had the feeling something was going to happen. Something big. He had no idea of what, but something told him it would be related to today’s events. That was why he didn’t take long in accompanying Hannah back to the humans’ camp; he guessed his father would not want him to be late tonight.

He _was_ right.

Thel had been waiting for him just in front of the Council Chamber, looking _very_ serious.

“Good evening, Lord ‘Vadam.” Inzo greeted in a formal way. “Mother said you wanted to see me?”

Thel nodded. “The Elders wish to have a word with you.”

Now he was certain it had to do with what happened back at the corrals.

Yet his father’s expression didn’t foreshadow any ill omens.

Deciding to be done with it, Inzo bowed his head to his father and then walked into the room. Most of the Elders were present, and all of them turned to look at him as soon as he entered. He would have been nervous, but he knew he had done nothing wrong, so he was not brought to be raked over the coals.

So he thought, at least.

One of the elders, Civa ‘Vadam (perhaps one of the eldest members of the clan), spoke first. “Young Inzo. We were expecting you, though I wonder what took you so long.”

This was one of the reasons he hated dealing with the elders. Instead of going straight to the point, they delayed the main subject by pointing out certain details such as _this_ one.

They were probably testing his patience, knowing _precisely_ that he _didn’t_ like it.

He would not fall for it a second time.

“My apologies, I had to escort one of the human visitors back to their camp.” He was inwardly satisfied when he saw a few of the Elders who expected him to lash out, or to do anything ‘reckless’, remain silent at the lack of said reactions.

“I see…”

A second Elder, Khure, spoke next. “From what I’ve heard, you’ve been getting rather… close to that female human.”

“With all due respect, sir, her name is _Hannah_. We’ve been getting acquainted, that’s all. And I’ve been learning quite a few things about the horses because of it.” Inzo responded, giving a smart justification of spending so much time with her.

“Ah, you mean their burden beasts? And have you learned anything useful?”

Though he knew _most_ wouldn’t think of using any information of the horses’ weak points against their human guests because it would be dishonorable, he would take no chances: especially when there were others who strongly opposed to them participating in the first place.

“They are of herbivorous habits, and this particular breed they brought seems to be especially made for deserts. They are smarter than they appear, though not as much as the Hundara.”

Inzo noted the disappointed looks of a few who hoped he’d reveal any weak points.

“Anyway, Lord ‘Vadam informed us that some rustlers attempted to steal Y’asabu, the black Hundara.” Said another elder.

 _Way to go, father_.

“He also pointed out that you bravely stood up to the them, aided by Mrydo and your… human companion.” Said Raga ‘Vadam. “We _must_ commend you on that.”

Inzo nodded. “Thank you.”

Another elder said with a disappointed tone. “Unfortunately, as we’re pretty sure you’ve heard, Mrydo’s leg was injured and he will not be able to mount Y’asabu in the race. And given there are only 5 days before it takes place, it won’t be enough time to find another rider with his capabilities.”

“What about Lord ‘Vadam?” Inzo inquired. “Y’asabu belongs to him, surely _he_ could ride him.”

“We pointed it out to him, actually.” One of the other elders said. “But he said he had to make sure things go smoothly with the officers who will stay here.”

Inzo felt a shiver down his spine when their gazes turned serious.

“However, he made a quite… unexpected suggestion.”


	8. Chapter 7

“Okay, Y’asabu, I know we haven’t gotten… along these years, but we’ll have to work together for the sake of the clan, okay?”

Y’asabu merely snorted and turned his back on Inzo, earning a groan of dismay from the young Sangheili.

They only had three days before the race, and Y’asabu didn’t seem willing to cooperate. He didn’t know if it was to spite him, or he simply didn’t like him. Inzo was starting to think it was a combination of both factors.

The council had decreed it last night, apparently on suggestion from his father. Inzo still had a hard time believing it, considering Thel hadn’t been very keen on him approaching the Hundara at all until he learned to be ‘more patient’. Apparently, Inzo himself had more chances of being accepted by Y’asabu in so little time, being directly related to the Hudara’s master, than a complete stranger.

The House of ‘Vadam counted on him, and he was not going to let them down.

Inzo wondered if this was how his father felt in his youth.

“Come on, Y’asabu!” Inzo cried out at the Hundara’s rear in dismay, from a considerable distance. “Is this because you don’t like me?”

Y’asabu gave a snort, apparently a sort of positive reply, and lay down on the ground to take a small break.

Inzo took a few tentative steps forward. “Well, could you open your maw and tell me what’s wrong?”

This time, Y’asabu lifted his head and spread out his mandibles, but no sound came out. Apparently he took it the literal way.

“That doesn’t help!”

Y’asabu lay his head down again.

“ _Dad’s going to kill me_ …”Inzo thought in dismay. This was pretty ironic; all his life he had wanted to prove that he was capable of riding an Hundara, and now that he had the chance it seemed that fate had other ideas and made everything possible to pull him further from it.

He had learned that he should never try to get on top of a Hundara without its permission, or the consequences could be deadly. Zyko once told him it happened to one of his brothers when he recklessly attempted to mount a yet untrained Hundara, and dishonored himself in the process upon receiving a sharp swipe from the talons.

Speaking of Zyko, he didn’t speak much about his clan’s Hundara, or who would ride her, but he guessed it was natural. Usually, the clans never talked about the Hundara they’d enter the race with or its rider, to avoid giving their opponents any hints. The mount was revealed a few weeks before the race, but not the rider’s name.

He tried to remember Khysan’s advice.

_Never let them smell fear or insecurity, or they’ll interpret it as weakness and take advantage of it._

It was easier said than done, though, considering Y’asabu has quite the fearsome reputation.

He wished Hannah were here to give him some moral support, or at the very least play that instrument from before to keep him distracted while he got on top of him.

Or…

“Hey, Y’asabu.” Inzo called out to the black Hundara. “Did you like the instrument Hannah was playing?”

Y’asabu lifted his head, interested.

“Well, she’s going to participate in the race.” Inzo said. “And I imagine she’s going to take that instrument with her to play it for her horse. Wouldn’t you like to hear it again?”

Sadly, it seemed this wasn’t enough of a reason to motivate him, since he lay his head down back on the ground, snorting.

“Okay, negotiating didn’t work, I better think of something else…” Inzo muttered under his breath as he wandered around the corral, warily glancing over at Y’asabu in case he decided to give him a fright.

He had to find a way to convince him to let him ride him, at least for _this_ race. He didn’t know why his father changed his mind out of sudden, but he would not let this chance go to waste if it meant he could prove himself to him, and to the whole clan. If only he could find a way... he overheard something going on around the stalls, and noted a few of the younger warriors were chatting amongst themselves, but they looked… worried.

Curious, Inzo approached. “What’s going on?”

“Did you hear, Inzo?” a young female, who was naturally shorter than him, inquired. “House of ‘Kazum has entered Khaxe for the race.”

Inzo gulped internally. “Khaxe? You mean the white Hundara with blood red eyes and an attitude that matches?”

“ _That_ one.” A slightly older Sangheili stated.

Khaze was almost as famous as Y’asabu, if not a bit more. She was a large white Hundara-the rarest color of all-with eyes as red as… human blood. The reason of her notoriety was different, however; thought she had never been able to truly compete against Y’asabu’s speed, she was a very endurable Hundara, and had a cunning intelligence.

But the worst part was her temper: she was _very_ aggressive, even for a Hundara. She could not be handled by hand, because she’d tear the whole limb off, and she killed whatever was in sight. Only a few Sangheili from the House of ‘Kazum had been fortunate enough to ride her and live to tell the tale.

Inzo remembered seeing her as a child, during a past Race, exchanging snarls and growls with Y’asabu. It seemed like they had a mutual dislike of each other, maybe because the houses they belonged to were also rivals in many things.

However, Inzo sometimes heard the Elders discuss about the head of House ‘Kazum asking the Arbiter to breed Y’asabu and Khaxe to obtain a ‘perfect’ Hundara, a combination of both bloodlines. Apparently, the Elders had dividing opinions (how _unusual_ ) about the matter; one half thought that perhaps breeding Y’asabu would mellow him out to some extent, while the other agreed with Thel that doing so would only give the House of K’azum a potential advantage over their clan.

This gave him an idea. Y’asabu was very proud, especially when it came to competing against _her_ in particular, and he would not bear to lose against her under any circumstances.

Leaving his brethren to keep talking about the other racers, he returned to Y’asabu’s corral, and as always he didn’t receive even a glance of acknowledgement.

“Hey, Y’asabu, guess what?” he said, chiming his voice the way he had heard Hannah and the others talk when they wanted something from another person. “Do you know who will be competing in the race?

Y’asabu snorted, uninterested.

“Okay, so you’re not interested? Too bad, perhaps this year **Khaze** will win the race.” He made sure to pronounce the white Hundara’s name loud enough for him to hear.

Inzo got the reaction he wanted: Y’asabu lifted his head with a growl when he heard his rival’s name.

“That’s right, Khaze the albino will race, and without you there, she’ll probably win the race, and you probably understand what they’re going to say afterwards.”

Y’asabu got on his feet and stamped his wide talons on the ground, hissing angrily. Inzo grinned internally, now he had something to work on, he just needed to pick the right words to persuade him.

“You’re not the only one who wants to prove something here. I want to prove to my clan, and my father, that I’m as capable as anyone! And you don’t want to _lose_ against Khaze under any circumstances. If you think about it, it’ll suit us both to win this race. Afterwards, we can go back to hating each other, what do you say?”

Y’asabu had been staring at him intently as he spoke, not moving an inch. A while later, he turned and sat down in a posture to allow the rider to…

Wait, did this mean….?

Tentatively, Inzo made his way into the fence, and Y’asabu didn’t show any signs of aggression, which gave the young Sangheili enough confidence to walk closer to and closer to the Hundara. By the time he was next to Y’asabu, he made sure not to show his uncertainty. This didn’t seem like a prank; Y’asabu did not prank like this, he went straight for the kill.

Y’asabu still didn’t make any aggressive moves. Finally, Inzo gathered all the courage he had and mounted the animal, not doubting it for a second. As soon as he felt Inzo’s weight, Y’asabu rose back to his feet. Inzo’s brethren soon saw what was happening, and approached the fence in utter shock and awe, surprised that Y’asabu had allowed anyone other than Thel on his back. A few were even wagering amongst themselves about how long he would last on Y’asabu’s back.

Inzo knew Y’asabu was taller than the average Hundara, but he never truly knew how much until now. Whatever feeling of fulfillment he had, though, soon diminished when he realized that Y’asabu would use no bridle; it wasn’t used because usually the riders were experienced enough to know how to . He’d have to figure out how to command him with the legs.

“ _Okay, how was it…_ ” Inzo thought, recalling the tiny bits of instructions he had heard from the Hundara cavalry unit teachers. “ _To make them walk, a slight touch with the legs…_ ”

As he touched Y’asabu’s sides as gently as he could, however, the Hundara suddenly spread out his wings with a shriek and started running; Inzo barely had time to grab unto his neck, nearly losing his balance. Y’asabu tucked his wings closer to his body and ran around the corral. The other Sangheili were soon cheering, though a few laughed when they realized Inzo wasn’t really dominating; it was the other way around.

“Y-Y’asabu, I didn’t want you to **run**! I wanted you to _walk_!” Inzo cried out in shock as he clung to the black Hundara.

Y’asabu ignored him, and noticed the gate of the corral was open; Inzo had been so nervous he forgot to close it. Before anyone could even try to do something about it, Y’asabu had already dashed through the gate and into the valley; panicking, some of the guards in turn ran towards stationed _Ghosts_.

Inzo knew how fast Hundara were usually from his rides with Et’ze, but this wasn’t Et’ze; this was **Y’asabu** , the four times winner of the Race. He ran even faster now in the open, almost to the point of knocking Inzo down, and by then had

“How do I make you stop!” Inzo yelled, desperately trying to recall what the teacher said about the ‘ _stop’_ command. After a few more seconds of running, he managed to remember he was supposed to give a quick pressure in the sides.

Unfortunately, Inzo forgot to get a hold of himself; as soon as Y’asabu stopped he flew forward and fell unto the ground with a hard thud. Groaning in pain, Inzo barely managed to lift himself off the ground, his side sore. Adding insult to injury, Y’asabu seemed to be amused by what just transpired, and gave a strange guttural sound that almost sounded like laughter.

“Oh, shut up.”

* * *

If there was something Ino hated it was whenever her son got hurt. Though their culture and way of life based around combat and swordsmanship implied that he got hurt every now and then during training or sparring, Ino hated when this happened to Inzo despite knowing it was bound to happen.

Still, like all Sangheili mothers, she didn’t pamper too much on her son to avoid turning him into what humans call a ‘momma’s boy’, and her ways to show her motherly love were subtle. One of those moments was when she tended to Inzo’s wounds, or minor bruises as he often called them. On this occasion, it was two large bruises on his arm and leg for falling from Y’asabu’s back, but thankfully he hadn’t broken any bones.

“It wasn’t that bad, mother, really.” Inzo insisted, wincing very slightly when Ino gently touched his arm. “But I’d thank you if you didn’t do that, it still hurts.”

“What were you thinking?” Ino chided him in a gentle voice, though her grip on his arm had gotten a bit tighter instead of releasing it, like he just asked. This let him know she was not happy about what he did.

“Mother, the race is in three days, I had to see if Y’asabu would accept me as his rider. It wasn’t that bad, except maybe his sides seem to be more sensitive than Et’ze’s.”

If I were for her, she wouldn’t even let Inzo near that creature.

In fact, she wasn’t happy that Thel had suggested to the Elders that Inzo be the one to represent the clan in the Race. She worried enough back when it was _him_ who raced, praying to the Gods that he’d make it back alive. And now it was her only child who’d be risking his life in that competition, but he was inexperienced in Hundara riding, he couldn’t even make Y’asabu walk normally, how was he supposed to control him in the middle of the desert with no help?

Yet, Thel had faith in him. He had seen something she had yet to notice; he always had that sort of wisdom. Most of the decisions he made worked out one way or another, over the years he used this gift well and wisely. If he thought Inzo was ready, then she respected his decision.

It didn’t mean she had to like it, though.

“Son, are you certain about this?” she asked her child, genuinely gentler this time, as she carefully pressed the healing device on Inzo’s arm.

“Well, this time he didn’t attack me, so I think I can handle him.” Inzo responded.

“That race might cost your life if you’re not experience enough, are you really sure you want to?”

“Even if I didn’t, the whole House is counting on me, mother. It’s the first time father actually trusts me on something.”

“Don’t say that, Inzo, your father loves you.”

“As far as I know, there’s a difference between loving and trusting.”

“I cannot afford to disappoint him, mother, not after he’s finally giving me a chance.” Inzo sighed sadly. “Even in the very _remote_ chance I actually win, it still will be _nothing_ compared to all the feats father has done.”

Ino placed the healing device aside for the time being, and embraced Inzo. She perfectly knew how he felt for having Thel Vadam’ as his father; all the expectations for him were higher than usual, particularly from Thel’s part. Ino understood why her son had that need to ‘hold a candle’(as humans said)to his father’s name. Though Thel and Inzo had grown a bit distant from each other lately, the former to avoid showing favoritism and the latter because he wanted to be out of his father’s shadow, she knew they still loved and respected each other.

“Have I ever told you about the time you were born?”

“Must we really talk about _that_ , mother?” Inzo whispered, blushing of embarrassment.

“You hatched before time; you were small and frail. Most in the clan thought you wouldn’t make it, some Elders even considered putting you down, but your father never doubted you’d survive. He said you were a warrior, that you would _live_.”

For some reason, that tale _did_ make him feel somewhat better. “Think I will make it? In the Race, I mean.”

“Thel believes in you, so I’m certain you will, my son.” Ino smiled, stroking her son’s head, managing to worry her uncertainty. She decided to change the subject before he could notice. “By the way, I’ve heard you and that female human are becoming rather close.”

“What can I sat? Hannah is nice, though she does have quite a character. She’s a very good rider too.”

“Are those… horses fast?”

“Not as fast as an Hundara, but yes. Hannah’s is very fast, though I don’t know if she’ll be able to keep up with Y’asabu… I just hope Y’asabu won’t try to eat that horse, or Hannah will kill me.”

“Are you that afraid of a human’s wrath?”

“Believe me, mother, if you had seen Hannah’s temper in action, you would agree with me.”


	9. Chapter 8

The day of the race finally arrived.

Traditionally, the participants gathered at dawn at the starting point of the race, a place between two old rock formations that overlooked unto a dry, plain terrain that led into the desert.

This year, however, there was heavy tension in the air. The Sangheili riders led their mounts to the starting point, but were struggling to keep the Hundara under control when they were dying to attack the humans’ horses. Equally, the horses were very nervous at the sight of the predatory creatures, a few had even reared up in fright, nearly provoking some of the Hundara into attacking.

Much to Inzo’s surprise, Y’asabu was _not_ among those Hundara. He had glanced at some horses a few times, but nothing more. Instead he picked a spot in the front rows and stood there, waiting for the signal. He guessed Y’asabu knew what he was doing, considering he had participated numerous times in the race.

Inzo looked around for Hannah, and saw her a few places away on top of Kamrya, who looked nervous between the two Hundara at both sides, who were gazing hungrily at her. What was Hannah thinking? Why wasn’t she huddled up with the other humans at the back? She was risking one of the Hundara bringing her horse, and herself, down in the first 100 meters.

Inzo glanced around at the other competitors. Just like Saza said, the House of Vadum had entered Kedara the golden female, and much to his surprise his rider was… a woman. She was smaller than male Sangheili, but other than that there wasn’t much difference. There was a green drak- a small, flying creature often used for ‘falconry’ (as Hannah once mentioned)-perched on her upheld arm.

It wasn’t forbidden for Sangheili women to participate, it just wasn’t very common due to the conditions the riders had to endure.

There wasn’t any rule that forbad the use of draks in the competition either, as long as they weren’t used to communicate with their House.

He noted the female from the House of ‘Vadum said some words with Hannah, but frowned at the reply and led Kedara a bit more to the side. What did Hannah say to make her mad?

A loud, aggressive shriek let his attention to Khaxe, the white Hundara, who was also among the front rows. Her rider was big and scarred with noticeable muscles, and he clearly was an experienced rider juding by how Khaxe never moved from her spot even though she was snapping her mandibles at the surrounding Hundara.

Around them, many aristocrats or civilians were gathered to see the start. Some Kig-yar had even opened up a ‘betting post’ for the wagers upon hearing the humans jokingly suggest it, where most of the attendees went to make their bets on the participant they thought would win. A little more in the back, he saw the Kaidons of the houses, his father included, watching the scene, most of them eyeing their own Hundara, confident of their victory. He exchanged a brief glance with his father, both telling each other whatever they wished to say with it.

One of the most elderly Kaidons had walked to one of the higher rocks on one side, helped by some younger aides, and started speaking in the Sangheili language, explaining the rules of the race:

The competitors would travel by day and rest by night, and though it was optional most followed this rule because of the awful temperature at night. Whoever made it alive in the first half of the race would be rewarded with one day’s rest in the biggest Oasis in the desert, coincidentally located just in the middle of the route. They were smaller oasis on the way there; most were the resting points for the night IF they made it there.

Duels either on foot or hundaraback were allowed, but they had to be one-on-one and with no other weapon other than the energy sword, the only weapon the Sangheili competitors were allowed to carry. Whatever predators they encountered would have to be either outwitted, outrun or defeated. The first to reach the finish line on top of their Hundara would be the winner.

The rules went much more easier on the humans. They would not be attacked, and should their weaker mounts perish they’d call one of the human pilots and give their locations to be picked up. Naturally many Sangheili considered this both dishonorable and cheating, since they were allowed to weasel out easy from it.

“ **Why don’t we give them a head start since we’re on it?!** ” one of the younger competitors pointed out, making the rest snicker mockingly. Inzo remained silent, however.

Kedara’s rider released her drak into the air. The tension intensified when some of the horses couldn’t take it anymore and reared up in fright when one of the Hundara snapped at them, which made the creatures’ lust for blood increase tenfold, but their riders held them back.

Olympia Vale and the human delegation curiously, a few of them looked more concerned than anything.

The old Kaidon lifted an old _storm riffle_ ; when he fired it, the race would officially begin.

Inzo stiffened and got into the running position Mrydo had taught him. Thankfully Y’asabu wouldn’t fling him off the saddle to spite him (again).

3…

2…

1…

 **PUM**.

Once more Inzo barely had time to hand unto Y’asabu as suddenly he was off, along with the rest of the Hundara, all of them running at top speed and leaving the human’s behind… except for Kamrya and Hannah, who for some reason were managing to keep up.

“Kamrya, let them go!” Hannah whispered into her horse’s ear. “It’s too risky to be so close to them! Let them go!”

Y’asabu, on the other hand, had placed himself on the top position, followed closely by Khaxe. In less than a few seconds, they had left the starting point far behind, and to the humans’ surprise the Hundara started slowing down into a trot, and then into a walk.

“What did I tell you, guys?” Carlos muttered to the nearby riders. “It was all for show.”

Inzo himself was also surprised when Y’asabu slowed down into a walk along with the others, until he remembered his father’s advice.

_Y’asabu will most likely save up his energy for when it’s really needed, so don’t be surprised if he slows down after the first one hundred meters._

In fact, now that Inzo noticed, it seemed the Hundara themselves had been the ones to slow down on their own accord instead of being ordered to; he had to recall most, if not all, had participated a few times and had learned how to make it alive out of this. Then there were the younger ones who were in their first race, and were still in a trotting speed and even rushed past Y’asabu, but he paid them no heed, something very rare. He really wanted to save his energy for later.

The party advanced as a sort of caravan for the first miles, with the Hundara at the front and the horses at the back to avoid any predatory incident. Y’asabu and Khaxe were among the front rows, but for the time being none of them paid each other any mind.

The terrain was mostly composed of sandy dunes and rock formations every few kilometers or so, apparently deprived of any life. However, the elites knew there were many dangers across the desert other than the hellish heat and the unforgiving land.

Inzo found he didn’t need to do much other than to keep an eye out for predators. Y’asabu went on his own, picking out the smoothest trails and the direction they went by himself, probably the ones he had used back when his father rode him. He’d exchange a snarl or growl with any Hundara who passed by them or got to close, but other than that didn’t start any conflicts.

A loud neigh from far behind caught his attention, and he turned in time to see one of the horses lay on the ground with its rider beside it. The rest of the human riders had immediately rushed to their aid, but the horse couldn’t stand up; in fact, it seemed to be in pain, and one of its legs looked a bit red. The human took out his riffle and aimed its tip at the horse’s head.

Inzo turned around just as the trigger was pulled. He noted many of the other elites had turned back in curiosity to see what had happened, a few even stopped to take a look at the now animal. What had it done to be put off just like that? Was it disobedient? Or gotten hurt?

Ah, well, he guessed he’d have to ask Hannah later.

The ‘caravan’ of competitors rode through the desert all day, and by sundown most had arrived at the first oasis. It had a medium-sized pool of fresh water and many plants and trees for shade. Soon after the humans joined in, though there were fewer than Inzo had counted since the horse fell. Maybe more had also been shot. The humans all camped together with their horses huddled up tied to a pole, while the elites camped individually.

Horses and Hundara were very different, but at that moment they had something in common: they were _hungry_. The humans gave their plant-eating mounts buckets of grain, some vegetables from their home planet among other things. The Sangheili, however, released their Hundara and let them roam freely.

Hannah soon found why: she was startled when an impala-like creature emerged out of the bushes and started running off, but what nearly did it was a red Hundara that suddenly ran towards it almost like a _velociraptor_ , brought it down with its talon and finished it off by closing its jaws on its neck and twisting it.

“Holy shit!” Tom said. “Did any of you record it?”

“Always prepared!” Carlos said with a laugh as he recorded a video with his phone. He tried to get a few steps closer to see how it ate, but Hannah stopped him by the arm.

The Hundara had noticed him approaching and was giving him a warning, slit-pupil glare.

“Sorry…” Carlos lifted his hands and slowly stepped back.

The Hundara responded with a snort, then picked its prize by the neck and walked off back to its rider.

Inzo nearly hunted one of the Keifra(the impala-like animals)that roamed around there, but he was beaten to it by the drak belonging to Kedara’s rider, and then that rider herself. Still, he made no complaints and went to find another. It didn’t take long, they were abundant in this place because of the water.

Inzo walked back to his fire, where Y’asabu was already feasting on his prey… a doarmir. Of course he’d go after larger prey, he had a big appetite, after all. It took almost five big buckets of doarmir meat to quench him. Y’asabu gave Inzo a warning stare, telling him to stay away from his food.

“Chill out, I got my own, so I have no need to take yours.” Inzo told him as cut a large piece of his own meat and roasted it in his fire.

Seconds later, all present in the oasis heard a strange sound, but Y’asabu and Inzo found it familiar; the former lifted his head in the direction of the humans’ camp. Inzo was wondering when Hannah would start playing her harmonica. He heard lots of croons and purrs from the Hundara around the oasis, so he guessed Y’asabu wasn’t the only one who found the sound pleasant. He guessed they wanted to soothe their horses down after whatever happened to the fallen one. After finishing his meal, Inzo made a ‘bed’ from some big leaves hanging from a tree and fell asleep.

Hours later he was abruptly awakened by a heavy talon pushing him first gently, then abruptly when he didn’t respond fast enough, followed by an annoyed growl that he found too familiar. Inzo reluctantly opened his eyes and saw Y’asabu was staring down at him with slit pupils.

“Really?” Inzo growled. “Do you even know what time is it?”

Y’asabu snorted and looked towards the sky. It was still mostly dark, but there was a faint outline of red through the horizon. The first sun hadn’t even come out yet, and the air was freezing, yet the Hundara was already waking him up? Did he want to continue?

“Can’t you wait until the sun comes up a bit more?” Inzo grumbled, but before he could even try and get back to sleep Y’asabu lifted him by the collar of his robe an lifted him off the ground. “Okay, okay, I got the message!” Inzo snapped with momentary panic, and was released without a second though. He glared at the Hundara as he rubbed his rear. “Were you that picky with dad?”

Y’asabu snorted and walked off to drink as much water as he could before they set off again. Inzo grumbled as he extinguished what was left of his fire with his hoof and some dust.

“If we had such an alarm clock back home, we wouldn’t be late.”

Inzo turned around and found Hannah standing with Kamrya in the bushes, looking amused. “Believe me, you don’t want to be awakened in this manner.”

Hannah couldn’t help but laugh. “No offense, but that creature seems to be the one in charge.”

“In a way he is. I mean, he has done this and made it alive a few times already, so he knows which routes are safe.”

“I guess he has a good reason to wake you up at this hour, in that case.”

Inzo glanced at the direction Y’asabu had gone. “I guess he wants to be at the front.”

“He doesn’t have any trouble with that, he was at the head yesterday during the… run.”

A few seconds later Y’asabu returned, and his eyes set on Kamrya. Inzo momentarily panicked when the Hundara’s pupils became thin slits. Kamrya became nervous and stomped her hooves at the way he was staring at her.

“Y’asabu, don’t even think about it!” Inzo snapped at him. “Besides, you ate a whole doarmir yesterday!”

Again, Y’asabu merely snorted and sat down.

Shortly after, they set out again, and were surprisingly joined in by Hannah and Kamrya. Apparently Hannah hadn’t paid attention when Olympia Vale explained the route, and she needed to follow any of the competitors to now which way to go. Inzo found it amusing that such a confident and skilled human was so distracted.

In a way, though, he was glad to have some company other than Y’asabu.

By the way they had made their way into stable, rocky terrain, one of the suns was already rising and the second was following suit, making the temperature rise considerably.

Again, Inzo did nothing but sit on Y’asabu’s back while the black Hundara did the navigating. Hannah noticed it. “I’ve heard of showing the mount who’s in charge, but this is ridiculous.”

“It doesn’t work that way with Hundara,” Inzo explained. “You cannot order them around. You have to earn their respect, and even when you do they can and will take their own decisions.”

“So technically he is in charge, isn’t he.”

“Yes.” Inzo thought now was a good time to ask. “Hey, what happened to that horse that fell to the ground?”

Hannah sighed sadly. “It broke its leg and had to be put down.”

Inzo glanced at her in surprise. “You killed that animal just for a broken leg?”

“It’s not that easy. A broken bone in a horse is much more serious than a regular human breaking a leg. Horses have lighter bones; they’re strong enough to carry their weight, but for them to be able to go fast they’re light. Naturally when they break they _shatter_. Plus a broken bone is very painful, much more in a horse because of what I just mentioned; the best you can do is to put them out of their suffering.”

“How do you put a horse down?”

“The quickest way? A clear shot in the head does the trick,” Kamrya suddenly snorted and shook her head. Hannah smiled and rubbed her neck. “Don’t worry, girl, that won’t happen to you anytime soon.”

“And here I thought your horses were fragile before…”

Hannah scoffed. “Oh, come on. It’s not like your wyverns don’t get hurt every now and then given they are very aggressive and attack everything they see.”

“If it happens, should the Hundara be crippled it must be killed to preserve the clan’s honor. In the best of cases if it’s only scarred it merely loses favour. But you are right, the Hundara tend to fight amongst themselves often for dominance in the pack.”

“This one is your family’s top one, right?”

“Yes. The fastest and strongest…” Inzo muttered. “ _Though he has a horrible personality…_ ”

Y’asabu shrieked and stopped in its tracks to glare at his rider with slit pupils.

“Sorry!” Inzo quickly said, though he soon regretted it when he realized he was showing weakness again.

Hannah was wise enough not to voice her opinion outloud. “ _I have to agree with him on that one…_ ”

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, the first part of this chapter is more or less told in Y'asabu's perspective, so instead of the other character's names they'll be referred to as how _he_ refers to them. I'm putting the terms here just in case you get confused as to who is who.**

**_Newbie-Rider_ : Inzo. This is because Inzo has no experience in neither mounted combat, the race or even hundaraback riding in general.**

**_Two-legs_ : Hannah, and humans in general, a reference to how they stand on their two hind legs.**

**_Gray-one_ : Kamrya, reference to her dapple gray coat, the thing that he finds most interesting, since there are only five hundara colorations and none of them is gray.**

**_White-one:_ Khaxe, the white hundara and Y'asabu's rival, making a reference to her white scales, the rarest of all hundara colorations.**

**Master- Thel 'Vadam, for obvious reasons.**

**Spine-back- the labrak, a predatory animal that lives in sanghelios and has big spines on its back. Species created by Dragunalb, much like the hundara themselves.**

* * *

Although _newbie-rider_ liked the company of _she-human_ and the four-legged _gray one_  in the lonely desert, Y'asabu didn't.

It didn't have to do with being close to a prey he wasn't allowed to eat- though that _was_ part of the reason-, rather it was because he was used to traveling alone without any distractive factors.

The _gray one_ and its rider would slow them down. He was sure of it.

He had watched _gray one_ in that occasion the _she-human_ spent some time within his territory. She was a plant-eater with no claws or talons. She got scared with the slightest sound. She was **smaller**.

 _Gray one_ was weak and helpless. He didn't want to be babysitting such a thing when his priority was beating _white one_.

 _Newbie-rider_ was no help in that regard. He was soft and unexperienced, so naturally he sought company to feel less helpless. 

 _She-human_ knew she was at disadvantage because of her weak _gray one_ , so she stuck close to him for protection. 

Y'asabu saw  _gray one_ and _she-human_ as parasites, like those bugs that sometimes got stuck under his wings and caused him itching while feeding on his blood. They were a burden that sough to benefit from him while giving nothing in exchange to compensate.

For now Y'asabu didn't get rid of such parasites because they might be useful as bait should they run unto any _burrowers_ or _sky terrors_. 

Like always Y'asabu was at the lead, following the same routes he had used before with _Master_. 

At least the ones that still were there. 

The desert was always changing, just like the position of the two bright spheres in the sky. Old paths were buried under the sands, or rocky formations crumbled and gave way to new. 

Only those who could adapt to such changes could make it out alive. 

He had learned the hard way the first times he and _Master_ participated in this event. Back then Y'asabu was young, wild and reckless, he always wanted to be at the lead and didn't realize what the true purpose of the event was. He foolishly wasted energy in bursts of speed and fights with other competitors.

 _Master_ was different. He was patient, observant and smart. Instead of rushing into action he'd first plan things out. He knew when to save up the energy and which battles were worth fighting and which weren't. This was the reason they survived when many others were consumed by the desert.

Though Y'asabu didn't like _Master_ 's way in the beginning, soon he learned they worked. So as years went by Y'asabu started learning these habits himself. 

It was hard, but soon he learned that patience was the difference. 

He learned that energy was precious in this hostile and almost barren environment, so he needed to save it for when he'd need it, like hunting his prey. 

He learned that _burrowers_ and _sky terrors_ couldn't be defeated and they could end both his life and that of _Master_ 's in less than a blink, so he had to avoid them or escape if the former wasn't possible. 

He learned that the _runners_ who were wise enough to follow these two rules were the ones who made it to the end of the event. 

So Y'asabu started following the rules. As a result he and _Master_ always survived, even won a few times.

But _newbie-rider_ was not like _Master_. He knew nothing about the race, he was far too naive and inexperienced, too soft, he lacked the spine an the cold blood; otherwise he wouldn't have let _two-legs_ and _gray-one_ follow him around. 

"So how long till the next oasis?" _two-legs_ asked.

"Well, if nothing goes wrong, we should be there by sundown, maybe even sooner." N _ewbie-rider_ stated.

"What could possibly go wrong?"

Y'asabu snorted. She really was stupid, wasn't she? 

"Lots of things, and not all of them include the climate," _newbie-rider_ explained. "There are lots of predators in the desert. Every rider in this race encounters one at least once, some don't make it out alive."

"You mentioned them before, but what kind of predators exactly?"

"There's the _donara_ and _sak'ul._  Those two are flyers, but it's the ground beasts you should worry about. In that case we have the _labrak_ , the _sandraith_ and the _sn'ach_."

"Which of those is worse?"

Y'asabu sniffed the air and came to a halt, causing _gray-one_ to stop as well. He sensed the smell of water a kilometers away, but also the smell of blood. Curious, he unexpectedly made a temporary detour from the main route to take a peek.

"Hey, where are you going?" he heard _two-legs_ asked as she made _gray-one_ follow him.

"I have no idea, he's going on his own!" _newbie-rider_ replied.

Y'asabu ignored them and kept walking down the rocky terrain while watching his steps carefully. Any body of water was worth checking out even if he wasn't thirsty. He couldn't be certain _when_ there would be water available; like mentioned before the desert changed over time, who knew if the usual places to drink were still there.

Better safe than sorry. 

As they neared the source of the smell, Y'asabu heard shrieks of distress and yells. He had an idea as to what was going on, he had been a witness to it a few times in the past, though he wasn't sure if _two-legs_ 's stomach would be able to handle the sight. 

They arrived at a small watering hole surrounded by big rocks. And there was a fight going on there.

One of the younger Hundara was shrieking at a large, green animal with thick scales, beak-like snout and long black spines running down its back. The creature was circling around the Hundara, spreading out its mandibles in a threatening posture.

The rider was nowhere to be seen, but Y'asabu could smell blood in the air, giving him an idea as to what had happened to him.

"What's that?" _two-legs_ asked.

"It's a labrak," _newbie-rider_ explained. "It's the most dangerous of all the desert dwellers."

"Well, it's too bad Carlos isn't here, he'd love to record this."

"We should go; they are very territorial and you don't want to cross one-but, hey, Y'asabu!"

Y'asabu ignored newbie-rider and quietly made his way to the water. The _spine-back_ would be too immersed with his current prey to mind them; besides, as he mentioned before, who knows when would be the next time they found water. _Gray-one_ followed him despite _two-legs_ 's protesting, he guessed she was very thirsty.

But _two-legs_ did manage to lead _gray-one_ to his right, apparently so that in the remote case the labrak _did_ bother with them he'd be the main target. How _brave_.

They drank in silence, while newbie-rider kept his eyes on the _spine-back_ and _red-one_ ; the latter's leg was bleeding and he seemed to wince every time he supported himself on that leg, a sign it was injured, which meant it wouldn't last long. _Spine-back_ whipped its tail at _red-one_ 's legs to bring it down before finishing the job by grabbing it by the throat and flinging it around. _Red-one_ gave one last shriek of agony before it perished.

"What happened?!" _two-legs_ asked.

"Err, well, let's say the red hundara's been put out of his misery..." _newbie-rider_ said awkwardly. He seemed to think the same as him, unsure if her stomach would handle it.

Y'asabu stopped drinking and kept a close eye on the spine-back; it hadn't yet seen them, it was too busy feasting on red-one's carcass, but they better no overstay their welcome. After a few more slurps of water, Y'asabu started walking away from the watering hole as quietly as he could, followed by gray-one soon after. 

* * *

After that... encounter with the labrak, Inzo hoped they wouldn't run into any more predators. Thankfully, ate that time of the day many of the creatures were hiding in whatever shade they could find. Sadly, it seemed _Y'asabu_ wasn't that considerate, he continued to advance without minding he, Hannah and _Kamrya_ were close to collapsing due to the overheat.

 _Kamrya_ was panting, while Hannah merely removed her jacket and put on a sort of white creamy substance on her skin to protect it from the UV (sunblock, she called it).

"Isn't there any sort of pit stop or something?" Hannah asked after a few more minutes.

Inzo was unfamiliar with the term. "Pit stop?"

"You know, somewhere to take a break."

"Only the oasis to rest for the night, I'm afraid."

"That sucks."

"Tell that to me, I _live_ here."

They had left the sandy dunes behind and were currently moving through a flat and seemingly endless rocky terrain. They hadn't seen any of the other competitors fo a while now, making Hannah worry for her companions, but Inzo didn't worry much about the other riders. They were more than capable of taking care of themselves. 

"Isn't your horse tired yet?" Inzo asked after a while to break the rather uncomfortable silence (other than the clip-clopping of _Kamrya_ 's hooves and _Y'asabu_ 's talons stepping hard on the ground).

"Nah, she's a sturdy girl," Hannah said confidently, patting her horse's neck. "Besides, arabs are the best resistance runners in the horse world."

"I can tell, considering she's been able to keep up with _Y'asabu_."

 _Kamrya_ snorted, offended. _Y'asabu_ retorted with a low growl coming from his throat. Was it their imagination or the had just... communicated? The latter suddenly raised his head and looked backwards, prompting Inzo and Hannah to do the same. 

 _Khaxe_ and her rider were running at top speed, soon going past the four of them without giving them a glance. Soon after she was followed by other Sangheili on their own mounts. Inzo noted the riders were looking backwards, making it look as if they were running from something. 

Soon he saw the reason.

A colossal dust storm was heading their way. 

"We have to look for shelter, _now_!" Inzo cried out in alarm. "Follow me!"

 _Y'asabu_ burst out into a run, followed by _Kamrya_. But soon it became evident he would outrun her. She was, but not enough to keep up with a thoroughbred hundara such as him, and the dust storm was quickly catching up to them. A few unfortunate riders whose hundara were too exhausted or too young to have known what to do had already been swallowed by the clouds of dust and sand.

"Inzo!" Hannah cried in panic when she noted he was getting farther and farther ahead.

" _Y'asabu_ , slow down, you're leaving them behind!" Inzo growled, but _Y'asabu_ merely snorted. If he could speak, he would have probably said 'I don't care'. Of course, he had forgotten he might care about Hannah's wellbeing, but _Y'asabu_ didn't.

Panicking, Inzo grabbed unto _Y'asabu_ 's neck and pulled it backwards, forcing the hundara into an abrupt halt that sent the young sangheili flying off the saddle and unto the ground.

 _Damn it, not again_. Inzo thought, but what nearly did it was the angry shriek and slit-pupiled glare _Y'asabu_ gave him. He was sure he wouldn't let him unto his back after that. 

"Inzo, are you okay?!" Hannah asked when she and _Kamrya_ finally caught up.

"I'm fine, I think..." was Inzo's reply.

 _Y'asabu_ looked back at the sandstorm, which was dangerously close, and apparently decided he'd reprimand the boy later. 

Right now the priority was to make it out of this alive. 

With another shriek he lifted Inzo by the clothes without giving him time to recover and flung him unto his back before bursting into another sprint, and again _Kamrya_ galloped after him with some difficulty to keep up. 

Fortunately, there were some sort of ruined stone structures up ahead which would make a good hiding place until the dust storm passed. they entered through the door-like opening just as the cloud finally caught up, nearly sending them flying inside. However, even though not directly out in the open anymore, the wind was so strong it sent dust flying inside.

Hannah and Inzo both covered most of their faces with their desert scarves to keep their lungs and nostrils clear of any sand. Hannah covered _Kamrya_ 's head with her jacket to protect her eyes, while _Y'asabu_ lay down and hid his head in his wings. 

"Well, it looks like we'll be stuck here for a while." Inzo commented, glancing in the direction of the entrance. Nothing could be seen outside except for flying sand and dust.

Kamrya let out a snort, and a half-frightened whiny. Y'asabu snapped at her from under his wings.

"They did it again." Hannah pointed out.

"I wonder if animals have their own, intergalactic language and can understand one another..." Inzo muttered. 

"Curiously, some people back on Earth think something similar about the animals. In the past, most animated movies depicted  animals as being able to understand one another."

Inzo glanced at her. "Animated movies? What are those?"

"Are you serious....?" Hannah's tone made him wonder if he had just said something wrong. "You don't know what a movie is?"

"I'm more or less familiar with movies, but not _animated_ movies."

"Well, animated films are kinda like normal movies, but instead of living actors you manipulate items or objects to make them appear as if they were moving. Think of it like a sort of optic illusion. They were mostly directed to kids, though."

" _Were?_ "

"They're a rarity today. With the war and all that, most industries outside of military were mostly discarded to put priority on mankind's survival. Some are trying to bring that industry back now that it's over, but most people just don't... find it appealing anymore."

There was an awkward moment of silence before Hannah asked. "How long do these storms usually last?"

"It actually depends on the climate, but they don't usually last more than two days."

" _That_ long?"

"How long do they last in your planet?"

"Id lie to you, I've never been in one. But from what I hear, sometimes they leave as quickly as they arrive. The thing is if this one lasts THAT long, how are we going to get water or food of any kind? It's not like we can just dig and expect to find an underwater spring, and _Kamrya_ needs more water. "

Inzo whispered. "Believe me, if you have to choose between starving in a cave or being out in the open during a storm this bad, it's better to starve. There are worse things than the labrak underneath the sand."


End file.
